my sousaphone story

[kontrabass]

Hey guys,

I started a blog a few months ago and decided to recount the (long) story of how I transformed from a typical grad school orchestral wannabe into a jazz/funk sousaphone player over the course of the last three years. Thought some of you might be interested in reading it, especially those of you who might be curious as to what happens in the "real world" after you finish school.

The story is spread over four parts which I will link individually:

http://www.robteehan.com/rob-teehan/201 ... art-i.html" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.robteehan.com/rob-teehan/201 ... rt-ii.html" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.robteehan.com/rob-teehan/201 ... t-iii.html" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.robteehan.com/rob-teehan/201 ... rt-iv.html" target="_blank" target="_blank

Cheers!

[TUbajohn20J]

Great story and very inspiring..I know many of us undergrads will be trying to follow in your footsteps when we get out into the real world. It doesn't matter if you play tuba or sousaphone, as long as you're getting paid to do it!

[Toobist]

Checked out your blog Rob. Congratulations on your growing accompliments! It's great to see!

Al

[kontrabass]

Thanks guys!

[kontrabass]

thanks bloke. you're right, i'm in my twenties, but still a day like that would knock me out.
hell i've started taking afternoon naps on the days where i have late night gigs, i'm getting old...

[elimia]

Great story Rob. I think you have found a real passion in your pursuits and a more practical one. I've found that
being able to read/write sheet music is real handy for recapturing those licks!

Let's talk shop. Do you have any insights yet with a preamp/bass amp combo that works for you? Have you played around with effects boards yet? I'm trying to figure a good combo in this direction for my euphonium.

Ryan

[kontrabass]

Bloke - gigs like that are my favourite! As happy as I am in Canada, there's a part of me that wishes I was down south where situations like that are more common... At the same time the New Orleans music has a bit of novelty appeal up here, not a lot of folks have heard about it.

Most fun I had recently was playing for a 'lindy hopping' swing dance class that had a "social". 100 people, all excellent dancers, busting incredible moves while we played and clearly very appreciative of our music. I'll take a gig where the music means something to audience over a fancy high-paid snoozer any day.

Ryan - no, not yet, thus far I've just been plugging directly into the board (with an SM-58 taped to the bell). It's hit and miss, not ideal, since some soundmen obviously have no idea what to do with me. I've got a few gigs coming up and will try renting a bass cab or two to try them out. As far as effects go, I've got ideas but I haven't gone there yet. Depends on what band I'm playing with too.

[Gongadin]

Great blog, Rob.
I hope to come out to see you and Chris play as soon as my family is finally settled in our new house. Hope your HeavyWeights gig the other night went well! I was painting our hallway!

[Mike Finn]

I use (rather than something small with phantom power) an upper-middle quality fairly massive "kick" mic, and I plug it into a pro-series Peavey with a 15" Black Widow speaker.

Just curious Joe, how are you plugging the mic into the amp? Any special adaptor, or preamp, or impedance matching device? Or just a cable like this?

[T. J. Ricer]

Hey, Guys,

I'm doing about the same thing these days. . . In fact, tonight is my first funk gig since officially becoming "Herr Doktor!"

FWIW, I use a passive vocal or kick drum mic run into a Carvin "Cyclops" Bass Combo (yes, just with a standard XLR to 1/4" cord). I find that the further out of the bell you place the mic the more tuba-like the sound and the further you drop the mic into the horn, the more bass guitar-like the sound. This mostly has to do with how the articulation and high end are picked up. Of course, having a decent amp lets you tweak the sound quite a bit. . . mine also has a direct out, so you can run through house sound as well, if needed/preferred. Heck, on one gig where the contract said "backline provided," but there were no amps when we showed up, our guitar player ended up playing through my amp (at least it has a high frequency horn and was in my car) and we just stuck me through the PA. Always good to have a backup option, even when it's not ideal!

SHAMELESS PLUG >>>If anyone is near Rochester, the Po' Boys Brass Band will be playing at Lovin' Cup over by RIT tonight (5/22) and be sure to check us out at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival in June. . . more info at http://www.poboysbrassband.com" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank <<<END SHAMELESS PLUG

Sousaphone is just another tool in my bag of tricks. . . it is certainly the instrument that has paid for itself the most times over!

--T. J.

[Steve Marcus]

I find that the further out of the bell you place the mic the more tuba-like the sound and the further you drop the mic into the horn, the more bass guitar-like the sound. This mostly has to do with how the articulation and high end are picked up.

So, Dr. T.J., with that information in mind, what is your preference for mic placement for funk? How about for Dixieland (outdoor gigs only)?

[kontrabass]

thanks for chiming in guys. I'm going to work on my amplification setup this summer for sure - renting a few bass cabs to try out, maybe building a mic contraption for the horn. one of my bands has a few HUGE gigs coming up for the Pride Festival in about a month so that'll be a good chance to try some out.

T.J., you guys sound great, and you're just across the pond me here in Toronto. you guys should skip over and do a show here, you could share a bill with the funk/brass band i play with. (here's a video of some Lady Gaga mayhem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mtDcR7nd-M" target="_blank. this one we didn't bother with amplification since it was such a small room).

[T. J. Ricer]

I'm still on the fence about mic placement. . . my band wants it to be deeper in the bell and more of an electric bass sound, but I would like a more true tuba sound with the mic pulled out a little further. I think Bloke has it figured out with his rig being able to find the sweet spot right inside the plane of the bell.

Yes, Rob, we should definitely funk-it-up one of these days. . . I'll point our band leader to your site!

thanks,
T. J.

[Mikelynch]

T.J.,
Have you seen Bob Stewart's rig with a pair of straps (at 90 degrees) that clip to opposite sides of the bell, and support a mic right in the center of the bell, and pretty close the the plane of the bell opening. That is one of the more elegant solutions I have seen to supporting a mic over/in a tuba bell.

Mike

[T. J. Ricer]

I haven't seen that rig, but that makes sense. . . I think TubaTinker has one much like that.

thanks, Mike!

--T. J.

[Dave Seip]

Ryan - no, not yet, thus far I've just been plugging directly into the board (with an SM-58 taped to the bell). It's hit and miss, not ideal, since some soundmen obviously have no idea what to do with me. I've got a few gigs coming up and will try renting a bass cab or two to try them out. As far as effects go, I've got ideas but I haven't gone there yet. Depends on what band I'm playing with too.

That's what I've been doing, although no tape anymore. I use a PG58 and just hang it inside the bell and wrap the cable around the horn to hold it in place. I like the sound overall, although I find that I often have to tell the sound guy to turn me down; if I play at ppp and the subs blow out, I don't have a lot of room to maneuver.

[David Richoux]

T.J.,
Have you seen Bob Stewart's rig with a pair of straps (at 90 degrees) that clip to opposite sides of the bell, and support a mic right in the center of the bell, and pretty close the the plane of the bell opening. That is one of the more elegant solutions I have seen to supporting a mic over/in a tuba bell.

Mike

That is pretty much what I have used for many years - but with just 3 straps. I have used it on everything from a big Sousaphone bell to a Yamaha 621 and I think the tone is quite good, running through my Cube 100 or the band PA system. Right now I am using a Shure M57 but I have tried all sorts of other mics from lavalier to bass kick drum - the 57 is what I saw Bob using a few years ago and it seems to be good for me too!

[Dan Schultz]

..... Wireless is the way to go. An expensive wireless isn't necessary. Tripping over cords is r-e-a-l-l-y dumb.

In a pinch, I've even used those 'cheapo' wireless lapel mics that are sold on fleabay for under $15.

[kontrabass]

by the way guys, what mouthpiece do you use for your sousaphonin'?

[kontrabass]

normally i just use whatever. i think i'm on a helleburg copy now. but i just wanted to make sure there's no wisdom i'm missing, like, "Oh, the new Heckelphone widemouth double-riveted 77G really opens up the bottom end on sousaphones"...