How do you hold that thing?

[TubaTodd]

+1 for Tuba stand. I've used it for every horn I've ever had from 6/4 down to 3/4 size.

[Gilligan]

I use a DEG stand. I've found that with both my BBb and Eb it frees up my left hand to work slides, a fourth valve and anything else as needed.

[UrbaneScorpion]

disadvantages of being tall- can't fit in cars, chairs aren't tall enough, hit your head on objects hanging from ceiling

advantage- I need no tuba stand (granted, I play a St. Petersburg 202N and a King 2341, which aren't very large)

[sloan]

tuba stand/rest - +100.

I just (accidentally) re-read the original post. "raise and lower your legs" to position the tuba? No, no, 1k times no.

Patrick Sheridan makes big bucks lecturing people that "your knees must be BELOW your hips". Raise your legs, and say goodbye to 40% of your air capacity.

Cross your ankles, fold your legs under the chair, ... do whatever is comfortable - but your knees MUST be below your hips.

[oedipoes]

I use a BBC stand with my Willson 3100 RZ-4.
If the tuba is on my chair, the mouthpiece hits my forehead (I 'm 1,75m).
So the stand is needed to put the tuba BELOW chair-level.
I use the same stand for my brassband's Besson BBb, which is an ergonomical nightmare.
It also works for me with 1m of drawer liner over my legs, but the weight of the instrument is too much for longer periods of playing.

Besides that, wouldn't it be a good thing if a tuba manufacturer would put an 'instruction' in the delivery box, that shows how the tuba is INTENDED to be hold?
When I first got the Willson for testing, my first reaction was: "What have they been thinking putting the leadpipe there???"
I'm comfortable with the stand now, but now and then I consider asking my repair man to change the leadpipe position... any thoughts about that are welcome.

Wim

[elihellsten]

I rest my Norwegian Star in my lap. Mouthpipe is at just the right height for me.

[swillafew]

On this forum you can find excellent photos of some celebrity players demonstrating horns at the shows. Their positions are a good reference on the subject.

Reading this forum leads me to believe that some folks have selected an instrument that is not a very good match to their own physical size; struggling with the horn seems to come up frequently.

[oedipoes]

Reading this forum leads me to believe that some folks have selected an instrument that is not a very good match to their own physical size; struggling with the horn seems to come up frequently.

You mean short people should buy little tuba's ?

I remember from a (now sadly removed again) youtube recording with the Wiener Philharmonic, (Bruckner 8 ) featuring Walter Hilgers with a Melton 197 on a stand... As far as I know, Melton specifically designed this instrument for him, so it was definitely intended to be used on a stand.
Btw, he didn't sound too bad on it neither

I also read on this forum about Mr. Pokorny talking about how much better his tuba sounded when on a stand.

Wim

[Wyvern]

In the days I used to play a Besson 981, I did not use a stand, but just sat on my lap. Then I got a Neptune and found that uncomfortably heavy to support on my legs for prolonged period without stand - I started using a K&M stand. Then when I got a MW 2040/5 I found stand essential. The one time I tried using without it slipped and hit me over the head with its bell to the quintet's great amusement - lucky neither of us was damaged!

I soon found the K&M stand not satisfactory - would not go low enough for all chairs and too curved craddle limiting tuba movement.

I then discovered the Tubassist and used that for some years screwed onto a folding chair. It works really great for all sizes of tuba and allows good movement. The only thing was it is a bit of a pain carrying around a chair and I did not like it just strapped onto chair.

A couple of years ago I discovered the Baltimore stand and found that great - it largely replaced the Tubassist for out of house use. It is not too heavy to carry, will go 16" low and has only modestly curved cradle for tuba making movement good.

I have also just got in stock new Wessex tuba stand from China which I have been trialling the last couple months. A bit heavier than the Baltimore it works equally well and will go even lower, down to 15" off ground.

The need for a stand was well proved to me about 6 years ago when I suffering neck problems largely due to crouching to play the 981 for hours on end. Use of no stand means the player adjusting to the tuba (be that stretch, or crouch), rather than the mouthpiece being in optimal position. I will now NEVER play any type of tuba (except for the light Bubbie) for any length of time without use of tuba stand.