Re: Survey: Cut your B & H tuba?


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Posted by Rick Denney on November 11, 2002 at 12:37:34:

In Reply to: Survey: Cut your B & H tuba? posted by Bill on November 11, 2002 at 11:00:56:

I had an old Besson Stratford when I returned to tuba playing. The only cutting I should have done with that instrument is cutting out a newspaper ad offering a better tuba for sale, and cutting out the other toys so I could afford it. But that isn't what you asked, heh, heh.

That instrument also played generally flat using the only mouthpieces available to me at the time, which didn't insert far enough. I solved several problems at once by have a technician remove a couple of inches from the narrow end of the leadpipe, and replace the receiver with a standard receiver. The technician re-bent the leadpipe and removed the ball on the bottom bow. The result was a Besson I could hold in my lap without having to have lips on my forehead, more usable range on my tuning slide, and a much more open mouthpiece. I also had to shorten several of the tuning slides--they were apparently designed to be used all the way in. When I traded that instrument, the fellow who took it said it was the only cheap Besson he'd ever played that was in tune.

Rick "who wonders if it was worth the trouble" Denney


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