Posted by Alex C on December 04, 2002 at 19:32:17:
In Reply to: F to Eb posted by Dan Schultz on December 04, 2002 at 17:11:31:
Adding 8" of leadpipe to an instrument would completely change the way it plays and responds. Intonation, response and color would all be affected.
Keep in mind that the leadpipe taper is supposed to be carefully designed to give the tuba optimal performance. Sometimes that is not the case, but even an intermediate level player would notice this change.
Additionally, you'd have to pull all of your tuning slides, in some cases (4th valve, for example) you may even have to extend the tubing.
Combination Bb-C trumpets have been mentioned but these instruments rarely play as well in one key as the other.
It's not a simple procedure. Neither, by the way, is cutting a tuba to a higher key. Don't ruin a decent horn.