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Hey there folks,

A little background: I have a CC tuba, an F tuba, and a BBb sousaphone that cover all of my standard playing needs. There are almost no "tu-bah" gigs out there that I can't show up to with one or more of the above instruments where I feel like I'm lacking in terms of equipment (playing ability may be debated, of course) and realistically these three horns are the only instruments that I really need to or perhaps should own.

...but being a bit of an instrument geek, I also own an Eb helicon. It's really a joy to play and it has a really wonderful scale and a great tone. I'm really not much for having instruments hang around taking up space when I really don't use them, so I'd love to put some more miles on it (and perhaps make a few more dollars with it) so that I can justify keeping it.

So...what kinds of groups have you found are most accepting of more "unusual" instruments? ...or do you just let them gather dust until Tuba Christmas rolls around again?

Once you've been bringing the Eb helicon for a while, it won't be unusual any more. I used to play mine for a Morris side sometimes - English folk performance dance. No one knows the difference. I forget how many times someone asked if it was French horn.

I have my King 'Monster' rotary BBb at 'Windjammers' this week. I also brought along the Yamaha 103 4V conversion in case I get tired of lugging the King 'beast' around.

The two tubas that I play regularly are probably both "oddballs" to most: A 19th Century Schuster Army model that is small enough that many think that is a baritone and an early 20th Century King 1258. Since the folks I normally play with only care my being on pitch and on time, these both work quite well. One and a half of them are visible here.