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Re: The coolest Tuba I have ever seen (Seriously)

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 10:31 am
by jacobg
What, no two shoulder ergonomic sousaphone?

Re: The coolest Tuba I have ever seen (Seriously)

Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 10:13 am
by iiipopes
First, I'm wondering if the helicon picture is reversed.

But...Every other new tuba looks like a York/King/Miraphone/Alexander/Besson clone or adaptation. Every new euphonium, with rare exception, looks like a Besson clone. Why? These designs work. But they are not the only designs that work. For example, the Besson pre-merger "Enharmonic" tuba as a competition to the Boosey/Blaikley compensation worked fairly well with good intonation; too bad it was too heavy and a little stuffy. Remember that every instrument we play was a "new" design at some point.

So whether they work or not, or become economically viable or not, it is good to see some variation and experimentation on brass instrument design.

Re: The coolest Tuba I have ever seen (Seriously)

Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 10:18 am
by Wyvern
iiipopes wrote:First, I'm wondering if the helicon picture is reversed.
No it is not reversed - it sits on right shoulder as you can see in attached photo. Apologies for the state of my hair - had just walked through monsoon rains to get to Anaheim conference center!

The big problem with this helicon is all the weight is out front. If wants to flop forwards. A regular helicon is the most balanced tuba of them all, effortless to wear.

Re: The coolest Tuba I have ever seen (Seriously)

Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 10:30 am
by iiipopes
Wyvern wrote:
iiipopes wrote:First, I'm wondering if the helicon picture is reversed.
No it is not reversed - it sits on right shoulder as you can see in attached photo. Apologies for the state of my hair - had just walked through monsoon rains to get to Anaheim conference center!

The big problem with this helicon is all the weight is out front. If wants to flop forwards. A regular helicon is the most balanced tuba of them all, effortless to wear.
Thanks. If the balance issue was addressed, it would be nice to get the weight onto the right shoulder after playing (cough) decades of it on the left shoulder!

Re: The coolest Tuba I have ever seen (Seriously)

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 7:01 am
by ATschetter
Reminds me of the animated Tubby the Tuba.

Re: The coolest Tuba I have ever seen (Seriously)

Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 6:18 pm
by humBell
I gotta say, a front action helicon is a pretty cool idea.

Thanks for pointing it out!