tuba fads

jeopardymaster · Post by **jeopardymaster** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:59 pm

It may be OK for Walt Disney, but not for any tuba of mine! Oh wait, somebody on TV just said Walt isn't a popsicle after all.

Look, I'm sure torturing a brass instrument in this way can change its molecular structure. But in my opinion 1) it doesn't help, b) [stuff] happens and iii) the return fails to justify the cost and risk.

Maybe it's worthwhile as a joke -- like just do it to the mouthpiece while little Jimmy isn't looking. Then again, maybe not so funny after all.

SplatterTone · Post by **SplatterTone** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:18 pm

Yamaha Silent Brass

I have to say, the mute does indeed shut down the sound without affecting the playability too much. But it's beyond me how the audio pickup / amplifier combo could sound so bad.

bttmbow · Post by **bttmbow** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:15 am

Scoob. The answer is two.

Somebody mentioned synthetic valve oil, reminding me of Alisyn, which, when used after/before petroleum based oils, would make your valves almost unable to move. I am glad I never used that stuff.

BTW, sometimes the NEW thing can be worth all the hype, just look REAL careful before you jump. Once your baby's gone, it's gone... unless you're lucky enough to get her/him back! (it might take a bit more than some flowers and a box of chocolates, however)

WoodSheddin · Post by **WoodSheddin** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:50 am

anyone mention St. Petersburg tubas yet?

Perhaps the ultimate bell bottoms tuba would have been Kelly O'Bryant's tricked out Yamaha 621 F tuba with gold accents, adjustable gap receiver, vented valves, custom valve caps, a Dillon Bronze mouthpiece, and a performance of Blackbird live on stage.

I went to school with Kelly, so if he is reading this, I meant the previous paragraph in good spirit. I know Matt at Dillon Music can now take this in stride.

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 3:15 am

- Caravelle commuter tubas (keep the fiberglass bell at home and the metal bell at school)
- Marzan tubas
- Mirafone [sic] sousaphones with three and four valves
- tubas playing the piccolo obbligato in "The Stars and Stripes Forever" while the piccolos and flutes played the bassline (1973)

SÃ¸ren · Post by **SÃ¸ren** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 6:28 am

You refer that some of the stresses in the metal will be released when nearing absolute zero. I accept that. But freezing a tuba in what ever way, will be far from absolute zero. At least 100 Kelvin if you freeze it some of the more expensive ways, otherwise it would be around 150 Kelvin from absolute zero.

It is right that one can add impurities to metals to get other properties of the metal (adding carbon to steel for example). But if you take a close look at brass, it consists of small crystals packed together. And I seem to think, that as long that you do are interested in the properties of tuba sound, it must be in the packing of the crystals (or the interface between crystals) that might make a difference, not so much the properties inside each individual crystal. Heating will have an effect on this (I think brass repair men call it annealing?) and I guess impurities will play a role too. (in semiconductors, it is all about the right kind of defects in a crystal because it changes the electrical properties drastically.)

And if the horn sounded darker after the freeze, you could have done a spectral analysis of the tone before and after to see if there was any change. What you heard could be an effect of you playing the horn in different rooms, and so on.

Sorry, I still do not see why freezing a tuba could make any noticeable change to the sound.

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:16 am

SÃ¸ren wrote:Sorry, I still do not see why freezing a tuba could make any noticeable change to the sound.

http://www.whc.net/rjones/jlynch/cryo/

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:27 pm

bloke wrote:isn't sure that you can effectively 'freeze' solid materials, unless they are first changed to their liquid or gaseous forms"

Yeah, isn't a tuba "frozen" already!?

(or is that just the violas?)

dmmorris · Post by **dmmorris** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:53 pm

5th or 6th valves on BBb tubas.

djwesp · Post by **djwesp** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 5:23 pm

Venting your rotors.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:15 pm

bloke wrote:Let's get back on track...

paying some shop to make all of the rotors on your tuba rotate the same direction

I just converted an old string-linkage Cerveny to uniball. Rather than relocate the stop blocks, I brazed an arm onto the side of each rotor opposite the stop pin to take the ball fitting.

Now all of the rotors turn exactly opposite of the way they do on the usual mechanical linkage setup.

How "incorrect" is that?

MikeMason · Post by **MikeMason** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:30 pm

i don't mean this to be cruel, but I'd submit Kelly'O himself.I really miss him and his swagger......

tubajoe · Post by **tubajoe** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:45 am

serpents and neumes.

eupher61 · Post by **eupher61** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:45 am

djwesp wrote:Venting your rotors.

hardly a fad, if they weren't vented to begin with.

Rick Denney · Post by **Rick Denney** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:37 pm

djwesp wrote:**Rick Denney type disclaimer**

(who doesn't claim to be a metallurgist, molecular chemist, solid state phys... or anything close)

The disclaimer should have been:

"It may do something, but there is no guarantee that the something it does has any value to a tuba player."

We are not talking about aircraft engine parts here. We are talking about tubas. Fatigue cracking as a result of unrelieved residual stress is not a big issue for us.

In fact, I just obtained an original Martin that is made of...

...wait for it...

...fiberglass. Guess what? It sounds like a tuba. In fact, it sounds like a Martin. A good Martin. Considering how different fiberglass is from brass, I refute the efficacy of any difference between one brass and a brass that is very subtly different at the molecular level.

Rick "thinking that Martin is destined to do a little mythbusting" Denney[/i]

Rick Denney · Post by **Rick Denney** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:41 pm

djwesp wrote:(no, I wasn't the one doing the cryo freezing. I'm not a proponent of it, as I'm poor and have enough things I can work on personally to get better.)

Now, that is a disclaimer I would be proud to call my own.

Rick "wondering at the effects of cryogenically treating polyester resin and glass fibers" Denney

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:45 pm

Rick Denney wrote:Fatigue cracking as a result of unrelieved residual stress is not a big issue for us

Speak for yourself. I crack from stress all the time. Of course, I'm not considering having myself cryogenically frozen, either...

(maybe Ted Williams doesn't have this problem any more!)

Biggs · Post by **Biggs** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:58 am

tubaman90 wrote:conn 20k..

hardly a fad, more like a gold standard for rich high schools

bttmbow · Post by **bttmbow** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:05 am

Remember the 80s?
I forgot the best one:

Strips of duct tape inside the bell.

The Big Ben · Post by **The Big Ben** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:14 am

bttmbow wrote:Remember the 80s?
I forgot the best one:

Strips of duct tape inside the bell.

What was that supposed to do?

Jeff "Roll of Duck Tape: $2.49" Benedict

TubeNet

tuba fads

Brrrr - still Goofy to me

Re: The statement that...

hardly