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Re: another dumb post / another dumb idea?
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:03 pm
by Kevin Hendrick
bloke wrote:... I wonder if
lengthening some of those old Eb tubas to D
(rather than considering "cuttin' 'em to F, which - when attempted - always seems to end up as even a worse intonation disaster) would produce a
more in-tune instrument? Many of those instruments were originally built below A=440 anyway...
... it is not within the realm of practicality to lengthen an Eb instrument to CC...at least not without throwing away most of the bugle and replacing it with a "cut-down" BBb bugle...and that's not at all the sentiment of this post/thread. The concept is to (perhaps...??) only lengthen all of the valve slides and main slide to end up with a "D" instrument, and ending up with an old large-bell instrument that is much more consistent.
... I can't help but wonder, though, if some of those more "blossomy" very old Eb tubas (various makes) could, somehow, be "rethought" ("cylindricized" just a bit - down to D) with the hopeful result being easier intonation.
Not dumb at all -- makes a lot of sense. If the valve slides are long enough, you might be able to lengthen the main slide (or make an extender for it) and just pull the valve slides enough to adjust ... in fact, if it's a low-pitch horn, you
might be able to pull
all the slides enough to make it work. I'll be
very interested to hear how this turns out!
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:05 pm
by Chuck(G)
I lengthened one to C; it wasn't too bad--better than the Eb performance. Just didn't have the "lungs" that I'd expect out of a CC that size.
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 12:09 am
by MartyNeilan
This was actually kicked around a little 5 years ago, but more in the vein of cutting CC's
http://www.chisham.com/tips/bbs/mar2000 ... 25039.html
And even a thread by some guy named Joe S
http://www.chisham.com/tips/bbs/mar2000 ... 25192.html
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 12:53 am
by Charlie Goodman
I don't know if the world is ready for a DD tuba yet, Bloke.
But seriously, it sounds like a great idea if you have a bunch of tubas, but where would you fit it into your normal big contrabass/smaller bass tuba scheme? It seems like D would be an impractical key for an all-around horn, but I don't think it would be enough of a difference from either a bass or contrabass horn to make it a SECOND horn...
Charlie "basically wondering if he'll now have lugging THREE horns into his normal gig in his hopefully-performing future" Goodman
Man... that's an awkward nickname to be sure.
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 12:59 am
by Kevin Hendrick
Charlie Goodman wrote:I don't know if the world is ready for a DD tuba yet, Bloke.
I don't know ... the idea does seem appealing somehow ...
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 2:17 pm
by Chuck(G)
Why not add a locking valve to change the pitch between Eb/D or D/Db or Db/C? You could have your cake and eat it too.
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 2:27 pm
by jmh3412
Or why not just play a compensating instrument?? so that you are always in tune!
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 2:32 pm
by dmmorris
yep..those are the "guitar keys"....and I agree that having a tuba in D would be a blessing.
dm "who never really loved playing a BBb tuba in the key of E...but does it more often than I ever dreamed" morris
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 3:50 pm
by windshieldbug
jmh3412 wrote:why not just play a compensating instrument??
No matter what the key, no instrument has ever been able to
compensate me for all the time I've studied music...
