TubeNet

Let's see an A/B pic of your old F and new F....

bloke wrote: somewhat related: Lately, I've "gotten into" recording bell tubas. I love them, but they actually (not in some vibrational, but in a more practical way) fail to offer needed SONIC feedback to the player. I'm LEARNING how to compensate for this. I've NOT mastered compensating for this (again: at least not in my own judgement) as far as attack (often: less than I'm perceiving) and loudness (often: more than I'm perceiving) are concerned.

Once I played in a pickup band for a July 4 background-music-for-the-fireworks performance. One of the other tuba players brought a 20J and out-blasted the other two of us. Afterward, he was provoked with me because my bell was in his ear and he thought *I* was trying to drown out *his* sound. He just couldn't hear himself below and behind the business end of the unfamiliar tuba he borrowed for the night. That made me cautious of recording bells. They're best left to better players than me (because of the need to compensate, as you are doing.)

Purty ....

I was waiting for Rick to chime in because he has the mind to address this. My first reaction to the post was, Oh here we go with the "this is new information so it can't possibly have any merit" responses, which seem to happen any time you challenge someone's belief system. And depending on the patience of the OP, the discussion can go in the potty or not.
For me, it makes prefect sense that a brace that is either pushing or pulling on the tubing, whether you can SEE it or not, is going to affect the shape of and/or the stress on that tubing. So much for voodoo. As to the expertise required to get those braces in their best possible position, kudos to those who can do it. One of those things that you don't know until you do it, whether it will have any effect on that particular tuba.