Ringing Bell

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 1:09 pm

Sounds like you may have a loose solder joint.? I know many a repair person would probably not agree with me but you could try a strip of electrical tape in different sponts around the bell to see if the vibration is tamed a little. It may at least give you an idea of what is causing it.

Tubaryan12 · Post by **Tubaryan12** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 1:12 pm

Does it ring in every place you play? I thought I had the same problem until I realized that the ringing was coming from a file cabinet in my office

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 4:20 pm

Tubaryan12 wrote:Does it ring in every place you play? I thought I had the same problem until I realized that the ringing was coming from a file cabinet in my office

Ah, Tubaryan, practicing in the office. I hope your office has better acoustics than mine. Also, it is good to know you are practicing with a tuba and not a secretary(a bad idea). I can't practice with a secretary. I don't have one. This is probably a good thing, although I could certainly use someone to help keep things better organized.

Bill Troiano · Post by **Bill Troiano** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 4:42 pm

I bought a Mirafone 188 CC back in the early 80's and it had a ringing when playing F just below the staff. It drove me nuts. Mirafone advised me to call (and bill it to them) several guys who were using that horn to see if any of them experienced this. None had, but when I finally called Roger Bobo in LA, at the time, he called it afterglow. He said that he had never experienced it with Mirafones before. He also said that the only way to really eliminate it was to wrap some duct tape around the bell. I didn't want to do that to a new horn, so I sent it back and got another. Good luck!

Art Hovey · Post by **Art Hovey** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 12:18 am

I have known some tubas with that annoying tendency. One solution is to wrap something around the bell, like a terrycloth towel. Another solution is to buy some clear plastic tubing at your local Ace hardware, slit it down one side, and slip it onto the bell all around the circumference. It looks good, stays on pretty well, and damps out the bell vibrations.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 2:14 am

If it's really a "ring" and not a belll rim wire "rattle", you mgiht see if changing the resonant frequency of the bell might help. You could try applying some of the lead adhesive-backed tape used to change the balance of tennis raquets and golf clubs. You should be able to find some at a pro shop.