Recording bell tubas evolution to upright bell

[EdFirth]

Steve makes a good point. In the right hands a bell front is very effective with the added option of putting the sound where you want to.And you don't have to overcome the acoustic problem(although most have done so nicely) of the bell facing to the right or left. On the other hand, in the wrong hands it can be a blatty annoyance. Jake had one of those big Holton copies of his York with both bells and used the bell front at Ravinia. there was an article, I think it was in The Instrumentalist, about this in the late 60's or early 70's that Roger Bobo was involved with where they had someone on stage going back and forth between a raincatcher and a bell front and the observation was basically that the raincatcher was a nicer sound while the bell front was course and blatty. So there has been a kind of movement to only encourage students to buy upright bell horns... in C ...with at least five valves please. I think we should play what our ears tell us is the right tool for the job.Ed

[Uncle Markie]

As usual I agree with Ed Firth.

I have both bells for my Martin; I can testify that there are many benefits to the bell front tuba. Professionally I have usually worked alone - it's a rare pleasure to be in a section these days. The bell front helps a lot with dodgy acoustics - outdoor bandshells (NOTHING sounds good in a Wenger Bandmobile!) and low ceilinged night clubs and catering halls.

An upright bell would have been a chops killer on the Ringling Circus Band; the bell front gave me a shot a the mike and the band could hear me all the time with less effort on my behalf. It helped me hold the time together, etc. with certain drummers (who shall remain nameless) who were in a hurry to get to the next measure.

There are variations in bell front configurations. Most of the Kings 1240 and 1241s and all of the Martins were angled back slightly - more of 45-degree tilt as opposed to a 90 degree found on other makes. In the worst cases the 90 degree bell front put a wall of brass between the player and the sound of the horn. I never had a problem hearing myself with a King or a Martin.

For what it's worth - it was condition of my employment with Paul Lavalle and Band of America that I had a bell front tuba. The same thing went for Jerry Kuhl who played euphonium (and wonderfully so) on that tour. Lavalle wanted the audience to SEE the instruments... showmanship, etc.

I suppose a bell front is a luxury today since they are no longer manufactured and most guys can afford ONE tuba..

Mark Heter

[roughrider]

It is always great to hear the perspective of posters such as Ed Firth and Uncle Markie. Their real life experience with these bell front horns is good to learn from. I have owned my King BBb "Symphony" Recording Bass for forty years now. It has been the main horn until just recently when shoulder problems have kept me from hauling it to two different rehearsals a week. I play a Boosey&Hawkes "Imperial" BBb which is permanently located at the band hall and which I have had a fair bit of work done to. This is a terrific horn as noted by other posters in a previous thread. I like playing the new horns, however I always go back to the tried and true. Imperial for inside work and King for outside. It works for me.