First impressions on my new Wessex BBb Tornister Travel tuba

[David Richoux]

A timely answer to the large ensemble question - I used my Tornister at rehearsal with the California Repercussions. I was with 7 Sousaphones in a rather small space ( our regular rehearsal room.) although I was playing loudly, I felt like I was totally overpowered. However, some of the trombone players at the other end of the room said they noticed my playing and said the tone was not exactly Sousaphone quality.(Not giving a value judgement, just different.) Many other band members were interested in the horn.
By the way, we just released our second CD, available here.

[Oscar]

Nice to hear that! I guess I'll give it a try.

[David Richoux]

After some experimentation, I like the tone I get using my Conn-Helleberg mouthpiece the best with this horn. Getting the high range sounding nicer, mids and lows are still good and solid, less buzzy; but the very low notes are not quite as full compared with my Loud 7. The pitches are about the same, using my iphone tuner - close enough for jazz

[Tubacube]

Great reporting Dave! Waiting to see one with a rose brass bell.. Soon I hope!

[mr_funypuns]

I'll preface my comments by declaring myself to be an amateur, but one with nearly 35 years of playing experience through college and beyond. I'm the proud owner of an antinque conn 38K that plays beautifully, and a not so proud owner of a a Chinese clone of a Meihnl that plays fairly well. I also toy around with a weril Euphonium.

I currently play with a small band comprised of high school students, college students, and various older (like me) players.

Just received mine an hour ago. I'd played one back at Tuba Christmas in Chicago, and fell in love with it.

The Wessex Mighty Midget BBb has a sound that reminds me of a bass trombone, but hopefully as I play it more I'll get better at coaxing the mellow notes out of it that I like hearing from a tuba. That said, having a tuba that can fill in for a bass trombone is fun! It's a lot of fun to play on polkas, marches, and fast-moving pieces. It's more nimble than my bigger horns. The dinky little valves move FAST. Having the bell so accessible has got me wondering about the Jazz possibilities. I'm wondering about plunger mutes for a tuba...

I bought the horn for its portability, and it seems to suit that purpose perfectly. While it isn't a perfect substitute for the larger horns, it will work on the days when my back is giving me trouble.

The horn tends to play sharp for me, and so I need to experiment a little getting the pitch right. The valves sometimes seem a little scratchy when they move. I'll play it in a little, keep it oiled, and experiment with different oils. Right now using al Cass Fast. Need a better choice, I think.

I want to try different mouthpieces. I think something with a deeper cup will help me improve the tone a lot.

[Carroll]

I'm wondering about plunger mutes for a tuba...

I have had pretty good success with taking a "tupperware" bowl, attaching a screen door handle, glueing some weatherstripping around the rim, and going with that.

[pgym]

I'm wondering about plunger mutes for a tuba...

... to go with one of these:

[Tubacube]

Mine just got in last Wednesday , one observation: my
usual mouthpiece (large) feels good at first, but loses definition after about 15 min.
Smaller mouthpieces like the Helleberg or better yet the smaller Schilke Helleberg retains the focus better. Heck even a stock 61/2 AL seems to make the tornister focus!
Got the first Rose Bell, helps to take some of the edge out. Remember that this little tuba is more akin to a Cimbasso in a tidier package. This would be a great Bass bone double in Big Band. Trying out the strap, right shoulder is more comfort, left shoulder gives you better hand position on the rotors (your mileage may vary) my wife posted a video on the Dixieland Jazz Mailing list on FaceBook. Great jazz possibilities, got a clip on mini mic for the bell at Guitar Showcase -- it was originally intended for tenor sax bell mounting, but works well with the tornister. Nice thing about the mic is you don't need to overblow, just play nice and easy.
Waiting for the optional gig bag to ship in May, but it is nice to know that it fits nicely in my Reunion Blues gig bag for euphonium!
Being airline friendly this should be good for keeping my Kanstul dent free!

[circusboy]

my wife posted a video on the Dixieland Jazz Mailing list on FaceBook.

Can we see it?

[saktoons]

Just got mine two days ago. I struggled at first with tone and intonation. It took a while, but I'm getting better. I thought I detected a metallic buzz at Bb in the staff and D above it, but it seems to have gone away. Perhaps it was me and not the horn. (As others have said, I think that part of the problem is that the bell is at your left ear.) I started on a Helleberg mouthpiece, but didn't like it. Tried a Bach 12 Megatone, which was way off in so many ways. Right now I'm using PT-50 and am quite satisfied. Now to woodshed to see if I can get better and better.

As for playing feel and tone: It reminds me a lot of my Bohm-Meinl small BBb Sousaphone. (The small Sousa is full-length, but small bore, which is similar to the travel tuba.) There is a little more back pressure with the travel tuba than with the Sousa. In the lower notes, it seems like notes get ugly earlier than with my other horns, so I need to be extra careful not to overblow. I also found out the hard way that resting the horn on your leg with bell facing up (not while playing, while resting) is a good way to push the main tuning slide in and mess up your tuning. The two water valves in the double-wrap tuning slide are a nice thing to have. I haven't tried playing with the sling that comes with it. Just holding it and playing, I find there is no way to pull and push the first valve slide. Maybe the sling will correct that.

The tone, volume, and presence will never match my Marzan. But this is my toy and travel tuba, not my main horn. So far, I'm satisfied.

[Tubacube]

Under the category of " your mileage may vary" tried a Marcinkiewicz H2, at first I thought it was too big to center, but low and behold it centers very smoothly from low to high, takes away most of the edge. It is fun rediscovering what this little horn can do. Gonna go practice ....

[saktoons]

After a week of playing, including bringing it to wind ensemble rehearsal, I have an update. The more I play the horn, the easier it has become to get the tone and intonation right. The PT-50, so far, is still the mouthpiece of choice.

The buzz/rattle that I mentioned did not go away and it was not me. Others at rehearsal could hear the horn rattling, also. We checked all the screws and threaded pieces we could find, but none seemed to be culprit. If you rest the horn on the bow and tap the bell with your finger, you can hear the rattle someplace in the horn, but where it is has yet to be determined. There is also a cosmetic issue on the 4th valve's tubing that I discovered after spending more time with the horn. It appears that the lacquer either was applied incorrectly, or there was some kind of corrosion under the lacquer. There is an area of rough, black something on the nickel section of that tubing.

The good news is, I have been in contact with Wessex and they have been very responsive. We are working out what to do about the horn. I know I could return the horn for a refund, but I'm not ready to do that. I would still like to have a small horn like this one. So the options are to exchange the horn or have it repaired locally. I will post an update when there has been a change.

[NCSUSousa]

The buzz/rattle that I mentioned did not go away and it was not me. Others at rehearsal could hear the horn rattling, also. We checked all the screws and threaded pieces we could find, but none seemed to be culprit. If you rest the horn on the bow and tap the bell with your finger, you can hear the rattle someplace in the horn, but where it is has yet to be determined.

I had 2 such rattles on my tuba (not a Wessex Tornister, but these may help) -
One rattle was the 1st rotor stop plate. It just wasn't tightened down. That's probably not what you have.
The other was a bit of extra solder that was partially attached to the inside of the bottom bow. The loose end would rattle against the inside of the tubing. A good amount of water into the bell and some sloshing motion was all it took to break that free (wash it out) and fix the rattle.

[Tuba Guy]

I've had the Tornister for a little while at this point and love it. Used it in a Mardi Gras parade yesterday with 3 "real" tubas and it gave a terrific timbral contrast. That said, the sound is very bright and feels quite cylindrical. It's ok when playing with high instruments or full size tubas, but the profile puts you smack dab in the bass trombone's range. If you're playing the same notes as your bass bone player, there's a good chance they will win. I think based on how more cylindrical it is than a "normal" tuba, I will start calling it a contrabass trumpet or contrabone.
I've been using a Kellyberg (my SS Helleberg doesn't fit in the leadpipe, I think because of a dent in my shank) and a Neotech neck strap.
Pros: It's the easiest **** thing to march with. I love that so much. The notes are also really close together (which means you can pull some Coltrane/Miles licks) and it's possible to get a good sounding 4 octaves out of it. It's got a very distinct sound too.
Cons: When is the conical version coming out??
Overall, love this horn. Possible future changes I would like to see: Any way this could be reconfigured as a marching tuba? I think it would be super cool to have the leadpipe and bell all facing forward (a la giant trumpet) and the 4 valves stuck up on top (perhaps piston).

[kegmcnabb]

So has anyone actually FLOWN with one of these puppies? Does it indeed fit in the airline overhead bin? This would probably work for some of my gigs as long as it can actually be flown and sounds reasonably tuba-ish.

[kegmcnabb]

Also, does the case pictured on the Wessex website come with the horn? How does it differ from the lightweight gig bag? And am I correct in understanding, it is the gigbag that will fit in the overhead bins?

Pics?

[WoWwYnAtoR]

If I remember correctly: I believe it is the square case that fits within the cubage restrictions of an airline carry-on and the gig-bag is similar to (or actually is) a euphonium bag.

[David Richoux]

I've had the Tornister for a little while at this point and love it. Used it in a Mardi Gras parade yesterday with 3 "real" tubas and it gave a terrific timbral contrast.

I saw you in a video from that parade - just a quick frame or two. It was on Facebook but I cannot find it again. (if I do I will edit this post and pop in the URL.)

Making the horn a Bell Front marching horn would be tricky, the rotor linkage could be simpler at 90° but the lead pipe length might be an issue.

(BTW, this is an "All Ages" list - somebody might complain about word usage )

[David Richoux]

If I remember correctly: I believe it is the square case that fits within the cubage restrictions of an airline carry-on and the gig-bag is similar to (or actually is) a euphonium bag.

The "Square Case" is about 25" L, 16" W, 13" D and that might exceed some new airline carry-on limits. The "Gig Bag" is about 23" L, 16" W, 13" D but the corners follow the shape of the horn much more tightly, reducing the overall volume quite a bit. If I was going to fly often with mine, I would get an Anvil box that fit the Square Case and check it in.
The Gig Bag could get squished in a packed overhead compartment...

[Wyvern]

I have flown myself with the Mighty Midget more than once. I had no trouble getting the case through security and onto aircraft, but have found it will only fit in some overhead lockers. The gig bag will fit in the lockers on all but the smallest plane and then instead I could get the tuba under the seat in front to store.

So I am recommending the gig bag for using as carry on luggage. Using the case is risky and you might be forced to let the tuba go in the hold.