Posted by Paul Scott on December 14, 2003 at 13:51:40:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Vintage BBb's posted by Sorry on December 14, 2003 at 12:53:50:
If you picture someone playing a bass, they play with the instrument on their left, a top action horn is built to the right of the player. In the twenties they even suspended a sousaphone from a strap to the players right. They turned the neck so that the mouthpiece stuck out toward the player who simply put his hand around the valves and played it in "top action position". It's awkward to switch from the side action, even with the stand because both the tuba and bass must sit to the left.
In the late twenties-early thirties there were arrangements with quick changeovers from bass to tuba. There were those who did use the side action tubas with bass however. Spike's tubist's used top action Martins quite often, (Roger Donley and others).