electric blanket

[cjk]

Maybe good enough when coupled with this??



http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#sclie ... 0557947867" target="_blank

[bort]

Dang Joe, good thing you don't live somewhere that's actually cold!

[MartyNeilan]

A few years ago I did a recital where I switched between three tubas (two always offstage). I kept a small portable space heater blowing on them to keep them warm, so I could just go back, pick up the horn, and come out again. Worked surprisingly well.

[imperialbari]

Modify the nozzle to fit a 3/4" hose, which will fit most receivers. A fairly short blow would be sufficient.

Klaus

[tbn.al]

I read a piece from a physics prof/brass musician a few years back that claimed it is the temperature of the air column not the temperature of the metal that dramatically affects the pitch. He claimed that the metal does shrink some in colder temps but that actually causes the horn to go sharp, not flat. The overiding problem is that sound waves travel far slower in a colder air column and that is enough to compensate for the shrinkage of the metal and then some. Did anyone else see this? I wonder where I read it?

[eutubabone]

Okay. This is a worthy topic that requires much research. Perhaps some of the professional/ tuba teachers could shed some light on this?

[eutubabone]

I just thought of something. What if you used a 220 volt hairdryer instead of the 110 volt. Wouldn't it warm up the tuba twice as fast? Wait, I didn't consider the amps on the circuit, sorry. Also, what is the air volume output on the hair dryer? Wouldn't that be a factor also?

[Dan Schultz]

Joe... it's the air column that you want to warm. Of course... warming the brass will help some. But.... if you REALLY want to get the job done, go to Rural King and buy one of those 'boot dryers' that has the posts to put a pair of boots over. Just plug the thing in and set your tuba bell over the posts.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/33564?feat=9516-GN3

[LOTP]

About 8-10 years ago I was playing Horn in a band which rehearsed in an all-purpose church auditorium. On a particularly cold February night we all arrived with our instruments extremely cold and were faced with a rather long warm-up period. We solved the problem by turning on the oven in the adjacent kitchen and baking the horns for a minute or so at low (warm) temperature. If you timed it right you got a perfectly warmed-up instrument. Our oboist decided to warm up in the usual fashion

[imperialbari]

About 8-10 years ago I was playing Horn in a band which rehearsed in an all-purpose church auditorium. On a particularly cold February night we all arrived with our instruments extremely cold and were faced with a rather long warm-up period. We solved the problem by turning on the oven in the adjacent kitchen and baking the horns for a minute or so at low (warm) temperature. If you timed it right you got a perfectly warmed-up instrument. Our oboist decided to warm up in the usual fashion

Even the most picky bloke should be able to find some relevant gear here. Portable in 20 parts for one of the options:

http://www.bakingandbakingscience.com/military.htm

[Mark]

I have thought about carrying some of those chemical hand-warmers to use on my mouthpiece. But, I haven't actually tried it.

How about dropping one down your bell on a string and then covering the bell with a reflective space blanket?

[Art Hovey]

Herb Gardner (an excellent trombone/piano man in the NY area) used to have a small light bulb on his trombone stand to keep his horn warm. It worked well for him, and something similar might work for a tuba. An ordinary heating pad might also work, but neither would heat the horn as uniformly as an electric blanket. So why not just get an ordinary twin-bed-size electric blanket? It's bigger than what you want, but you could wrap the tuba in it very snugly. And when you get home after the gig you might even want to use it on yourself. I surely like mine.

[Dan Schultz]

..... The thing that I bought on line for $18-shipping incl. is 4' x 5'. I can pull the tuba out of the bag, lay half of the thing on the bag, put the tuba on it, flop the other half over the tuba, plug it in, go wash my hands, and come back to a warmed-up tuba.

OK. Now.... what do you do with the rest of the band flat while you're in-tune? Do you 'pull out' until they warm up?

[imperialbari]

Funny thing is that steel or copper stringed instruments go sharp when exposed to lower temperatures.

One of the reasons bassoons got out of tune with themselves when played in lower than room temperature, is that the bocal and the 1st wing may be kept reasonably warm from just being played, whereas the bass tubing is more rarely used in full, and hence the low range will be too flat, when employed.

My practice room is not very warm during winters, certainly no way near body temperature. When I hold my hand on the bow connecting the tuning slide to the main circle on my BBb sousaphone, I very distinctly can feel the tubing go cold when I have played in the upper range and then suddenly employ the 4th valve.

Klaus

[cjk]

Hey, I'm not fat, I'm "surface-area-and-volume gifted".

[Biggs]

Hey, I'm not fat, I'm "surface-area-and-volume gifted".

yes...Thank-you for understanding that B.A.Tyrant. is not a p.c. term.

Dude...c'mon.

[josh wagner]

I just use a space heater...in my house one room we keep the door shut for my "studio" and keep a little space heater which keeps the room warmer than the rest. for playing outside of my home...my Carhartt jacket works rather well at keeping my tuba warm.

[josh wagner]

Agreed, Gotta get the one with an eco-smart option