Tuba on SNL

[Lew]

I was just watching this past Saturday's SNL with Justin Timberlake and saw this performance.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/465354" target="_blank

It looks like the guy is playing a marching tuba of some sort. Not something that I would use for this, but it does look interesting. Anybody have any idea what he is playing?

[oldbandnerd]

This guy plays contra for his bands ( No BS BRASS BAND ) gigs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D40YTn3yUI" target="_blank

[wonderbread403]

According to Kanstul's Facebook page, it's a Kanstul marching tuba.

[David Richoux]

This guy plays contra for his bands ( No BS BRASS BAND ) gigs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D40YTn3yUI" target="_blank" target="_blank

I just got their CD - very good stuff! http://nobsbrass.com/

[ginnboonmiller]

That's pretty danged good, and also note that there's no bass player on stage, so he's providing most of the bass. There was definitely some synth doubling, but if JT is using tuba for the primary bass sound, there's a whole world of gigs available to us if we're willing to take them.

[ginnboonmiller]

It sounded to me like pantomiming to an audio track (recording) with a small amount "live" mixed in.

After all, where was the "other" Justin Timberlake who (in Timberlake's voice) was onstage singing harmony with him...??

No doubt about that, and it's not exactly shocking news to hear that people used backing tracks on SNL. Kind of not the point, though. They could have easily pre-recorded a tuba track and not have had the stage color, or vice versa, but that's not what they decided to do. It's a pretty tuba-centric television experience at the end of the day.

[bort]

To me, it seems like it would be very unpleasant to deal with that kind of tuba for an entire gig, as compared to wearing a sousaphone. (Maybe just a "hey, what's that?" gimmick?)

[tofu]

http://www.hulu.com/watch/465355

Just to tie this to another thread on doubling the guy who played tuba also played the flute on SNL for Suit and Tie.

I still miss the days of Howard Johnson on SNL. That was the best SNL House Band they have had.

[UDELBR]

Waaah: Hulu doesn't work outside the US.

[David Richoux]

Waaah: Hulu doesn't work outside the US.

You should consider yourself very lucky !
This thread tricked me into listening to this crap.
There is no tuba voice, just a baseline played on the left hand of a synthesizer to the
beat of a synthesized snare drum. Then there was the whinney voice of the singer: Like Michel Jackson,
he can probably sing really well but has chosen not to.
They are a dance act.
You didn't miss much.

No - I heard distinctly brass bass voice in that clip! It was not synth, and the notes extended well after where they might have been clipped if it was studio synth track.
Sometime you have to accept that there might actually be an honest audio director for a TV show like SNL...

As for the whinny voice - I am no big fan of Justin Timberlake, I guess he is OK, but what about that 60's "superstar" Frankie Valli? Where his shorts too tight too?

[tofu]

Waaah: Hulu doesn't work outside the US.

You should consider yourself very lucky !
This thread tricked me into listening to this crap.
There is no tuba voice, just a baseline played on the left hand of a synthesizer to the
beat of a synthesized snare drum. Then there was the whinney voice of the singer: Like Michel Jackson,
he can probably sing really well but has chosen not to.
They are a dance act.
You didn't miss much.

Geez - lighten up. It shows a tuba - on SNL - the average SNL viewer considers the tuba in same vein as flatulence - now a tuba shows up looking hip. Tubas and tuba players aren't synonymous with hip in most of the viewing publics mind.

I mean what did you expect - Justin Timberlake singing "Credo in un Dio crudel"? I mean we all know that would have meant no tuba - since Verdi didn't like the tuba and we all know how deeply Justin would have wanted to stay true to the original music.

[tubajoe]

Oh man, the tuba's totally in the mix. It's not a bass, rather a low horn (ala bari sax) sounds absolutely great (felt rather than outright heard -- think Prokofiev 5 ish) adds a great dimension to the synth bass it's doubling. It's not sequenced at all (there is a line in there at 2:41 where you can really hear it) The arrangment is outstanding. There are some vocal tracks naturally, but JT seems to be hanging. Looks as if the band is really making it happen. You can even hear the tuba laying into the opening chords.

While no, it's not Overture to the Prelude to the Flight of the Tubasaurus, the awesome thing about this is that it proves the tuba's constant relevance; an applicable commercial context... where an arranger took a chance on the tuba and broke the typical mold.

When bands *ad nauseum* do *retro* ish horn sections, the tuba as a horn is almost always not welcome... muchly because they get caught in cliches and simply don't know the difference between a sousaphone and a tuba -- as well as how to fit it into an ensemble situation and how well it can affect the entire band's sound. In this regard, this pop arrangement is a HUGE step, because both the arranger and the player knew just what to do and the sound is lush and thick and makes the whole low end "pop".

(FWIW, those horns are closer to an actual 4/4 tuba and are tighter/less chubby sounding than a sousaphone)

... and the girls who love that phat sounding JT tune have no idea what hit them.

=Job well done.

[Kevin Hendrick]

... the average SNL viewer considers the tuba in same vein as flatulence ...

That's pretty much how a lot of us consider SNL ...