Posted by Art on July 10, 2001 at 23:05:09:
In Reply to: Jazz tuba and valves too posted by Nick Clark on July 09, 2001 at 23:42:40:
Get a copy of "Louis Armstrong with the Dukes of Dixieland" and listen to Pops and also to Rich Matteson on tuba. For a very different experience listen to the earlier recordings of Boston's New Black Eagle Jazz Band with Eli Newberger on tuba. There is also an obscure band in Connecticut called the Galvanized Jazz Band that you might enjoy.
Regarding the valves, small-bore pistons will always be faster than large-bore rotary valves because they are less massive. That's the price you pay for a really open low register; you just have to find a compromise that works for you. Sometimes you can make rotary valves seem faster by adjusting them for longer stroke. (More distance = less effort) Harold Brasch had a standard comeback for kids who complained about being slowed down by the long stroke valves on a british euphonium: "Oh? You can play fast?" Then he would play twice as fast.