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Holton BBb

Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2019 11:37 pm
by sugawi

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2019 7:38 am
by roweenie
Looks like a Couesnon stencil.

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2019 9:02 am
by edsel585960
Yep, Couesnon origin for sure. Still appears to be in good cosmetic shape. Most of these I find are beat to $#!* :(

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:10 pm
by pbone3b
I just bought this.
The listing said Bb, but it is, in fact, an Eb, but I've decided to take it anyway. I'm a trombonist who is fairly proficient on Euphonium, looking for my first tuba.
Mistake?

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:20 pm
by pbone3b
Thanks!

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 4:23 pm
by Donn
pbone3b wrote:Mistake?
You never know, but at worst it isn't a super expensive mistake. If you're implying it's Eb, I think you're right there. If you get serious about playing Eb, I expect you'd eventually want something with more valves, but (as you probably already know) you'll be able to play the missing notes as if you had another register down there - so Ab below the conventional range is "open", G is 2nd valve etc. They just won't have as nice a tonal focus as the real thing.

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2019 3:31 pm
by pbone3b
Donn wrote: ... but (as you probably already know) you'll be able to play the missing notes as if you had another register down there - so Ab below the conventional range is "open", G is 2nd valve etc. They just won't have as nice a tonal focus as the real thing.
It's been almost 2 months, but I finally found that Low Ab partial you were referring to!
Thanks Again!

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:10 am
by Donn
I think the acoustic explanation is a mystery, but that range is well known in the tuba scene as "false tones." I understand that some players can get a similar anomalous low register on the trombone - but not in the same place! That is, it doesn't come out a fourth above the pedal octave, but some other interval that I misremember. I couldn't find any such thing, myself.

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 11:04 am
by Kirley
Donn wrote:I think the acoustic explanation is a mystery, but that range is well known in the tuba scene as "false tones." I understand that some players can get a similar anomalous low register on the trombone - but not in the same place! That is, it doesn't come out a fourth above the pedal octave, but some other interval that I misremember. I couldn't find any such thing, myself.
On trombone, I just imagined that I was using a trigger (4th valve in tuba speak) and used those same positions. Low Eb = b3rd, etc.

The trombone false tones are definitely less solid than the tuba ones, IMO. And, at least for me, the sousaphone false tones are more solid than lap tuba false tones. I’m sure certain horns/tapers lend themselves to false tones better than others. And I’m just as sure that the TNFJ has lots of opinions on that!

Re: Holton BBb

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 6:18 pm
by toobagrowl
Kirley wrote: And, at least for me, the sousaphone false tones are more solid than lap tuba false tones.
Many sousa/tuba players will say the same thing. The typical BBb sousaphone usually has excellent false tones - especially with the right mpc :tuba: