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I was watching some clips of Dave Bargeron today like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciPI7U1VEhE

Does he play a Bb or Eb tuba?

Just curious.

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Looks like a Besson comp. BBb.

Eb. For a long time. Right, Uncle Beer?

Dave plays Eb exclusively nowadays (he only picked up tuba when he was teaching in public schools!), but that sure looks bigger than an Eb...

TheHatTuba wrote:Looks like a Besson comp. BBb.

Yeah it's definitely a BBb comp. - I'm not sure if it's Besson or B&H although the valve caps look like the ones on my Besson as far as I can tell from the fuzzy video. He's even using that incredibly small Besson mouthpiece they used to sell them with. If I recall it was labeled a Besson 23 - I've got it somewhere - it's not much bigger than a bass trombone mp. I love how the crowd just stares at him - like he's an alien from Mars who just landed in the middle of a set and they can't believe he can sound that great on some kind of garbage can!

I loved listening to BS&T as a kid and don't think they are appreciated as much as they should be in the ranks of the all time great rock bands.

The secondary top bow above the hand excludes anything but BBb.

The sloping profile of the valve buttons used to be unique for Besson New Standard models. However the bright silver finish puzzles me, as New Standard brasses used to have silver on a sandblasted surface. Might point towards a tuba from the transitional years 1979 through 1982 until the first Sovereign tubas.

Klaus

"And When I Die" is in A, and you can watch the fingers and see that he's definitely working a BBb tuba here. He also gets away from A and into Bb to jam in the comfy key for a bit. On the BST "Live And Improvised" album, he gets away from A and goes clear to Eb to get it on with the Eb tuba. In case you haven't already heard that one…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQ-9YwRH64" target="_blank

Not sure what kind, but in this case, it really doesn't matter. It's not the horn, it's the player.

imperialbari wrote: the bright silver finish puzzles me

a tuba from the transitional years 1979 through 1982

Klaus

On my computer screen the tuba is in laquer.
Besides the singer on this clip is Jerry Fisher who left the group in '74 (joined in '72).

I love the two recordings Dave Bargeron did with Michel Godard, "Tuba Tuba" and "Tuba Tuba Tu".
That isn't an Eb, is it?



Butch

Yes, Dave's playing Eb on those recordings.

UncleBeer wrote:Yes, Dave's playing Eb on those recordings.

Ok, thanks!

My own Eb is a Sovereign, so the bell is much larger. But I think if you look at the attached photo you'll see that it is a shorter horn than Dave B was using in the video. Also, my 2nd slide looks considerably shorter.
(Until I actually looked at the photo I was all set to guess that he was using an Eb. The smaller-diameter bell faked me out and threw off my perspective. But I wasn't being scientific enough to actually watch the fingerings!)

I purchased a used Besson New Standard about twelve years ago from Dillon's that had been owned by Mr Bargeron it is a BBb and great playing horn . (Satin Silver and small mp shank)