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Hello, I have been playing tuba for 3 years now. During my first year I played on a St. Peats 4V BBb tuba and saw that I was acquiring an allergic reaction to the tuba. So I talked to my director, tuba teacher and doctor, turns out that I was allergic to the metal it was made out of. My question is: what other silver-looking instruments are plated with nickel that I should watch out for? Thank you!

Certain models in the Schiller line are nickle plated. Some of the older tubas such as the Mahillon from Belgium.

It's a shame some ppl have an allergic reaction to nickel. I like the gray-silver look of it, and it is tough and durable.

I wonder if the same people who have an allergic reaction to nickel also have an allergic reaction to nickel-silver (a nickel-brass alloy). Maybe not enough nickel content in nickel-silver to cause a reaction? Tons of tubas out there with nickel-silver trim.

toobagrowl wrote:I wonder if the same people who have an allergic reaction to nickel also have an allergic reaction to nickel-silver (a nickel-brass alloy). Maybe not enough nickel content in nickel-silver to cause a reaction? Tons of tubas out there with nickel-silver trim.

Apparently, yes. It isn't so much about the nickel content, but the chemical nature of the alloy, which determines whether it actually releases nickel when in contact with the skin. Stainless steel has nickel in it, but nickel silver is much more likely to actually cause problems. So says the Handbook of Occupational Dermatitis; don't believe I ever actually heard of anyone who experienced contact dermatitis symptoms with nickel silver.

Many banjo resonator rings and some resonator guitars are nickel plated