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Hi all and Happy Father's Day to all of you Dads!! I was wondering if any of you, who play BMB tubas, have come up with an alternative to the small white rubber bands supplied with the tubas. Although I still think it is a smart idea and it works very well, the bands dry out rather quickly, break, and have to be replaced often. Has anyone discovered another alternative - different material?

I have not seen those yet. What are they used for? What is the size?

Surely there's an alternative material. If it's like a small O-ring... there may be some alternative materials listed at McMaster-Carr.

Think I read here some owners use an elastic hair scrunchies to good affect.

Hi Dan !!
I enclosed a couple of pictures. Some kind of small O ring might be a good idea.

Maybe Mr. Barth could send you a supply of replacements?

Hi Bill.
I have the BMB F and the CC BAT. Right from the 'get go" I replaced them with black neoprene O- rings. Gave them a couple of twists to adjust the tension. They've been on now for about a year and a half and are still just as good as new.

Hi Paul,
Today, after reading Dan's response to me, I tried using some O rings I had lying around. I tried one about the size of the BMB rubber bands, but there isn't much give in an O ring and I couldn't stretch it. So, I tried one about 1.5 in. in diameter. I was able to pull it over both posts, but the tension was too great for me to use it. You must have used a large O ring on your tuba.

Hi Bill.
About 1 1/4 inch diameter and relatively thin. Ace Hardware has an assortment. They need to be about 2 to 3 times the size of the little white ones that came with the horn.
Happy Father's Day!!!

Thanks, Paul. I'll check that out!!

BTW - I see your thumb ring is absent. Mine would not stay tight. Finally the screw snapped and then it needed to be soldered. Found a comfortable position and hit it with the torch.
I had to solder the brace several times to the 1st valve tubing and finally opted for a low temp silver solder. (Soft solder kept working loose.) Holds very well now.

What the hell is wrong with manufacturers and suppliers! Tuba players pay big bucks for equipment that has rubber bands in place of conventional springs?

I think it's time to 'dig in' and demand better!

The term 'robust' should mean more than 'works for six months'!

Flame away.

Dan,

No flame from me (at least in your direction).

best,
Mark

Mr. Barth told me that those little white rubber bands are used for tying back horse hair, and that you can buy them in packs of 300 for less than $5. That way you can have a ton of replacements for if they break. I owned the prototype Eb until recently (sadly), and it originally came with a clock spring to operate the 5th valve. It was very stiff and the action on the 5th lever was not at all smooth using the spring. Eventually the spring broke so I began to use standard office rubber bands attached at the brace on the first valve circuit (the prototype didn't have a thumb ring). The rubber bands did break often though, so I started using black hair ties for mine. They can be purchased from any grocery store in a 30-pack for a few bucks. I prefer to use the ones which don't have the metal bit on them so as not to scratch the finish. Hair ties don't dry out like rubber bands do, and they hold their elasticity better too.

I really loved my BMB Eb. I had to sell it this week to cover the costs of a new A/C unit for my house. The old heat pump died, and I needed the cash. Fortunately I have access to another horn I can borrow from the band I play in, but I was very sad to see it go. It is an excellent player, and though it had some short-comings regarding the build quality, I loved the sound and that more than made up for them. I think the new owner will be very happy with the horn.

Andy T.

russiantuba wrote:

TubaTinker wrote:What the hell is wrong with manufacturers and suppliers! Tuba players pay big bucks for equipment that has rubber bands in place of conventional springs?

I think it's time to 'dig in' and demand better!

The term 'robust' should mean more than 'works for six months'!

Flame away.

I agree with Dan to an extent.......I would be glad to pay a little more if I were buying one to have traditional linkage over rubber bands.

Sounds like you agree completely!

What is better/worse: Cheap Chinese linkage or cheap Chinese rubber bands?

I've played Paul's BMB horns, and agree that they play well. I didn't care for the feel of the fifth valve in the few minutes I spent on it, and would probably explore a linkage conversion if it were me. That said, I could also probably learn to live with it, but the idea that it could break so easily kind of scares me.

I have springs that I use in my BMB tubas. If you send me your model number I will send you a spring manufacturer and number to fit it.

Dredging this topic up from the depths.

I bought a J-865 about a month ago, and the previous owner used a hair tie. It's been working so far, but I'm just curious what's worked for people since the last updates a few years ago.

Particularly, has anyone customized the positioning of the trigger and how has that affected what you use? The images so far have appeared to be in the original position.

I've moved mine as far down as I could without the valve getting stuck in the open position.

I put four or five of these on at the same time to provide redundancy in case one or two of them should break. I keep the rest handy (as with valve oil) in the unlikely event I should need to replace one or two of them between tunes during a performance. Not a big deal, really.

https://www.amazon.com/Goody-Classics-R ... B00E9SPNDS" target="_blank

Hey ya'll prepare yourself for the rubberband man
You've never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You're bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam

Three Valves wrote:Hey ya'll prepare yourself for the rubberband man
You've never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You're bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam