Tuba Snobs?

[Yama861]

Don't worry about what horn you're playing. Let your playing, your musicianship & professionalism speak for themselves. Make a positive contribution to the group.

[Alex F]

Tuck:

You've got a great horn. Keep on blowing it.

[Daryl Fletcher]

[Dan Schultz]

It doesn't matter what you play. It's how you play it that counts. I make it a practice to haul about every horn I repair to rehearsals for a REAL 'play test'. You wouldn't beleive some of the stuff I show up with... frankenhorns, sousas, bell-fronts, you-name-it. Funny... several of the guys like to give the horns a toot, too!

[MartyNeilan]

Other than tuba or euphonium players, it doesn't seem to me that audience members or other musicians really care at all about the name that's etched on the bell, the number of valves, what key it's in, or anything like that.

You forgot CONDUCTORS!
Of course, you can always fool them

[Rick Denney]

Every instrument has its "professional" models and its "amateur" models.

For euphonium, if it's a compensating Besson, Willson, Yamaha, or Hirsbrunner, it's a professional horn. If it's a VMI or Miraphone compensator, then you'll have more to prove. If it's a non-compensating instrument like a Yamaha 321 or a King 2280, you must either be an amateur or a tuba player.

Nevermind that even if I showed up with a Willson, the respect it would earn would be dashed on playing the first note.

For tuba, you're in amateur-land if you have a Bb tuba, unless it's a dixieland band. But a new King is a high-respect instrument among "Bb amateurs". In fact, it's a high-respect instrument among professionals, too, because it says you care about sound more than cachet. We Bb players will never impress professionals, so the less we try the better off we are.

But just so you know, you could play a CC Miraphone in orchestra and get the same vibes. More than once, I've heard the phrase, "he's just a Miraphone player". Sheesh.

Rick "who would rather be thought a good BBb amateur than a laughlingly bad CC pro" Denney

[Naptown Tuba]

Something that always rubs me the wrong way seems to be more prevalent in euph. sections than in tuba sections. It's when you show up with your profesional 4valve lacquer compensating euph; and the comment is; "Nice horn..........too bad it's not silver". (Esp. when all the others are silver) I've learned you can't let it bother you. Just because it's silver doesn't make you any better of a player. I can play rings around some of the silver players. I just don't care for the mentality that you don't have a real euph. unless it's silver.
(Don't want to start a "silver vs. lacquer" war here. Just sharing my thoughts.)

[chipster55]

Someone should have told Ev Gilmore! He always sounded awesome on his BBbs. One of my heros!

Amen to that, Scooby!!

Anyway, I play a 3/4 Amati in the middle chair of a 5 man tuba section - 1 Miraphone 186, 1 Conn, & 2 Kings - and those guys don't care what my horn is. I figure if someone wants to give me crap about my horn, then they can buy me a new one or shut up. Until then, the Amati does the job and I play it the best I can.

[brianf]

This happens with all instruments.

A bass trombone player sitting next to me had some work done on his horn, an Elkhart Conn. It didn't have fancy valves and stuff like that so every other trombone player was suggesting tossing it and getting another horn for a few grand. This guy has a wife, kid, dog and mortgage, he had better thing to do with his money. I played the horn and comment the slide worked pretty good - that is what he had worked on! It sounded great partially because the metal used in the bell was thicker than today's aluminum foil mass produced crap. Yes it was a Conn but made in Elkhart way befire they made them in Texas and elsewhere.

When I commented that he did a wise decision, he said that I was the fist to say this. Yesterday's Conn is not the same as today's Conn, that is what the others were basing their decision on.

[windshieldbug]

even from the woodwinds (is that a good thing?)

Scoob; think about what people like that think sounds "good" before you ask that question in a room of brass players!

[Tabor]

I played in a community type band last year that had a few high school students in it. One of them was a good sounding horn player who was telling me that her section mates in school "were giving her a hard time" because her older horn (which her parents bought) had some dents and wasn't shiny. She had a Conn 8d in good shape that really played! Her section mates were playing a new shipment of Jupiter single horns.

[fpoon]

If someone talks smack about your horn, they think of themselves as musicians instead of tuba players.

And yeah, technically, we're musicians. But tuba players first and foremost.

A tuba player would see the horn, and instead of saying "nice student model", he'd say "sweet axe man, can I get a toot on that" followed up by a "you wanna go grab a pint"?

[Donn]

A tuba player would see the horn, and instead of saying "nice student model", he'd say "sweet axe man, can I get a toot on that" followed up by a "you wanna go grab a pint"?

Sorry but I totally disagree. I am a musician first and foremost, my instrument just happens to be the tuba. I think a musician doesn't care what kind of tuba it is if you are producing a good quality musicial product. It's a dilettante who gets all wrapped up in equipment snobbery, not a musician.

At first read I thought "holy mackerel, this guy has never seen two musicians in the same place", but you're really just talking about the equipment snobbery aspect, right? Musicians love to talk about their instruments! Last night I was standing behind a couple of well known local bass fiddle players, one of them quizzing the other about his bass which was rather new (5 years), made in Torino, blah blah. In our band, a guy sat in on Eb tuba, a somewhat modern looking silver plated 4 top valve model. What was I supposed to do, pretend I was too cool to care what it was? But "sweet axe, man" does capture pretty well the flavor of typical conversations, at least I've never heard much negativity directed at someone else's instrument, by a musician I respected. They don't say "axe" very often, though.

[TubaRay]

"Don't be a tuba player who happens to be a human being; be a human being who happens to be a musician who happens to play the tuba" - Gene Pokorny

I happen to agree with this, however it sounds like Arnold Jacobs to me. I had the same reaction in reading the above post. I very much identify with being a tuba players, however I hope I am a musician first.

[fpoon]

Jacobs was quoted saying at least something similar in Song and Wind, if not that exact quote.

I'm just saying that someone who considers themself a tuba played could probably care less about his buds horn (provided it works, at least marginally) where as someone who considers themselves an artist or what not might say something.

Seems to me the better someone perceives themself to be, the more insecure they are about their own stuff and they have to be a tuba snob. The true greats out there could care less what you play on, but only how you sounds. Cause that is kind of what matters the most...

[drewfus]

The first night I was in the community band, I showed up with this horn.



The other tuba player that showed up had a spiffy newer King 2341. He is also the Tubist for the local symphony. I recieved a warm welcome and not a word about the condition of the horn.

The following week, another dude was there with a Miraphone 186. I politely listended to him tell me about how wonderful his horn was, and how much he paid for it, and how I MUST get one to replace the wreck I was playing.

Well, I am still there, albeit with a newer Yamaha YBB-321(gasp! an intermediate horn),I haven't seen that Miraphone in a few months. I think if he comes back I'll bring the old King out and tell him I didn't want the Yamaha to overshadow him.

[TubaRay]

In my opinion, showing up at a rehearsal with a horn such as "drewfus" has posted will not raise the bar of expectation very high. Stated another way, the better the equipment a tuba player has, the higher the expectation goes. I must hasten to point out that the expectation is not always met. Often, the player is unable to meet the expectation. Once in a while, the player exceeds the expectation. At least for me, when I meet a tuba player for the first time, his/her instrument is the first impression that is made. It is usually very interesting to see how the playing compares to the instrument. Let me be clear about my position, here. The playing is the only thing that really matters. And, obviously, better equipment should make it easier to produce better results. Easier is the operative word, here. Easier--not automatic.

[pulseczar]

I think what specific model of tuba you are playing is really only of interest to other tuba players.

However, what the general public does notice is the condition of the tuba. I never fail to be amazed at how tatty are some professional tuba players instruments - looking like they have not been cleaned, or polished for years. I know this makes no difference to the sound, but it does to the presentation.

I do feel that if we are performing in public then we should make every effort for our tuba and ourselves to be presentable. It is not like brass players in orchestras have no spare time! IMHO, they would be better using the metal polish, rather than reading magazines when not playing in rehearsals.

Am I being unrealistic, or do others agree?

I guess that depends on your situation. I once did a gig at a Barnes and Noble at the better end of town. I was using an old ratty Conn 4J that had a good sound, but looked like a heap of junk. Whenever a potential patron came up to us to ask what it was for, we would say that it was to repair the tuba and it worked.

[iiipopes]

When I first show up with my tuba to a new ensemble, yes, I do occasionally get sideways looks, like, "Is he really going to play that thing?" or "Can he even play?" By the end of the first piece of the session, it is not an issue.

[windshieldbug]

...Is this guy a good driver?

At least he's got his belt on!