suggestions for tall player

[iiipopes]

Buy an older Besson Sov 4-valve BBb comp. The leadpipe is so high you should not have any problems!

Seriously, I didn't see what kind of tuba you play, or if it is the band's tuba or your tuba. You might just have to have the lead pipe and receiver repositioned with a good tech. If the tuba is yours and fits you otherwise, especially if it is a rotary with longer leadpipe, that is the best solution.

[Wyvern]

Try using a Tubassist stand. It will position over the chair if that is desired.

With that you should be able to get the tuba the height and position to suit you.

[LoyalTubist]

In grad school my teacher was the late Ev Gilmore, who was extremely tall (maybe 6'7", maybe even taller than that!) At 5'10" I am the height that is considered the optimal size for a tuba player. I can put almost any tuba in my lap and it feels just right. Anyway, Ev said all he needed for him to make a tuba work right was a couple of back issue volumes of the Dallas white pages phone book. He even used these (the books covered with black cloth) when he performed with the Dallas Symphony.

[stufarris]

I've been out of town for a while and would like to express my thanks to all who have graciously post suggestions. As things settle down, I will try some of these idea and let you know what happens.

Thank you again to everyone. This is such a nice community, but what else would you expect from tuba players?

[Conn 2J CC]

Bloke - Very interesting old pictures. Any info to go with them? Thanks -

[keronarts]

Another fine post by The Elephant above on this issue. I use a makeshift consortium of tuba boosters, myself. Perhaps I should get more scientific about this. Like The Elephant, I am a 6'-2" guy and a little long in the trunk area. Hence, the inevitable stoop towards the lower mouthpiece. I had thought of altering leadpipe location, but have also noticed that, depending on whatever there might be to sit on at the gig, the height of the leadpipe/ mouthpiece might vary. So I fix that from below by some type of cushioning mechanism.

But some of you REALLY sizable guys seem to be heading towards a good body of solution on this. The stand seems to be a good weapon of choice. Going to road test a few and see what fits best.

One good stand example is the small one used by Dr Fredrick Young on his large EEb tuba shown on the left in bloke's post. Can't quite see it here, really, but there's a little booster underneath there, I'm pretty sure. I believe that is Gerard Hoffnung on the right, though I could be wrong, though Mr Hoffnung's ventures with over-sized tubas -- not to mention others seen in this forum and elsewhere -- lead to some good ideas about stands/ levelers/ balancers, esp when lowering the instrument from lap to floor. Different types of options, depending on what you need to do.

[MileMarkerZero]

One of my section-mates uses his wife's yoga block. It's essentially a very lightweight foam, but fairly rigid. You have to wrap it in fabric or the brass moving against it squeaks.

[cjk]

...
One good stand example is the small one used by Dr Fredrick Young on his large EEb tuba shown on the left in bloke's post.
....

Dr Young's tuba is actually a double tuba in BBb and EEE.

[Dean E]

. . . . I am six foot eight inches tall with a long sitting height. . . . . I have tried using a single tuning bit from a sousaphone, but still can’t quite get a comfortable alignment. Using more than one bit looks a little too odd (even for odd-looking me) and still doesn’t quite line things up comfortably.

First, please make sure your chair is the right height.

Whether we're working at a desk or playing in the band, when seated with feet flat on the floor, the tops of our thighs must be parallel with the floor in order to avoid back pain.

I'm 5' 11" tall. I usually stack two chairs together to get a good height. Also, drum thrones are used by many to get the correct height.

I recommend a DEG tuba stand, selling for about USD$70.00 (and available with an extension for under USD$20).

Using the tuning bits is not a bad idea, either, but make sure of your intonation. I have been using two bits on a hot, outside gig. Otherwise I don't have enough tuning slide adjustment to avoid playing sharp.

[Rick Denney]

Bloke - Very interesting old pictures. Any info to go with them? Thanks -

The first is Dr. Fred Young playing his double tuba. It was made by Gronitz from an old King Symphony model (which was designed to be that tall to work in an orchestra pit). It's pitched in BBb and EEE, and used two connected switch valves and three valves on each side. Dr. Young claimed that every note down the pedal register could be played with the switch valve and only one other valve.

The instrument on the right is the EEb subcontrabass (pitched lower than the BBb contrabass) tuba that was used by Gerard Hoffnung (shown). The present whereabouts of that instruments are, as far as I know, unknown.

Rick "who uses a stand" Denney

[ken k]

even though I am not tall, my tuba is short! so I had a stewart stand mounted on my tuba permanently. They usually just attach with velcro straps.

here is a link to a previous thread with pics (hopefully):

viewtopic.php?t=23013&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=12

ken k

another thing I used to use are those black percussion drum muffler pads. The horn sticks to them a bit and keeps the horn in place even of less than perfect chairs.

ken k

[ken k]

Anyone remember the Stewart Stand? I think one of our board members even had his permanently soldered on to the horn.
http://www.wwbw.com/Stewart-Tuba-Stand-i79617.music
At barely 5'7", I have used a DEG stand with a few mods on and off over the years... to LOWER the horn!

and if memory serves me correctly I bought it from you!!!!

ken k

[MaryAnn]

What worries me about what you wrote is that you have to both slump forward and tilt your head back....and I don't think this can be solved by a tuba stand, which would just raise the horn. Even if you raise the horn on books or a stand or something, it sounds like you'll still have to tilt your head funny to play it.

Despite being in a completely different height category, I have exactly the same problem with my CC tuba, which I rest on the chair. I have to slump and then tilt my head back to play it. The leadpipe is at the wrong angle. Somehow I got used to it, but I do play slumped. I remember when my neck was just killing me before I got used to it though.

I'd vote for finding someone who is competent at changing the leadpipe angle, getting it fixed, and then worrying about the height.

I'm reminded of one tuba player I know, who has a permanently slumped posture and a protruding head. It looks like he developed this posture to play a tuba that had precisely the problem you are talking about....wrong leadpipe angle. I never queried him about it (it would be rude) but that sure is what it looks like. Even though he's quite a bit taller than I am, he plays with a leadpipe that is too low for me to reach without slumping, and I do not "sit tall" even at my dimunuitive height.

MA

[Sally Larsen]

I just had the leadpipe of my old King lowered. I had been using the Tubassist, set so the bottom bow of the horn was slightly below chair-level. That worked fine, though I ended up sitting right on the very edge of the chair.
After a trip to the shop, and around $100, I now have my horn sitting in my lap, and the "angle of contact" is much improved.
Seems to me that tubas come in a lot of sizes, and sometimes the horn that is just right, sound-wise, isn't a good fit. A little custom tailoring makes a lot of sense.
Just be sure you find a good repairman...