Posted by Rick Denney on January 10, 2002 at 16:15:01:
In Reply to: resting on bells posted by TubaSlowPoke on January 10, 2002 at 15:28:27:
This amounts to almost a religious issue, at least it seemed so that last time someone brought it up.
I've always rested tubas on their bells without worry. Some are tippy, and must be rested up against a wall. Others are quite stable, and I don't worry about them unless they are in the presence of strangers, in which case there is no safe place except inside a hard case.
Note that there is a difference between "resting" and "slamming."
Contrary to the views of some, repeated gentle placing of a tuba on its bell will not cause the bell rim to flatten over time. As long as the placement is gentle enough to avoid stressing the brass beyond its yield point, and as long as the tuba is unmolested while so placed, the brass will remain elastic enough to hold its shape indefinitely. English: If you don't bend it by slamming it down or by stepping on it once it's there, then it won't bend itself.
Rick "whose tubas have rested on their bells for years without damage" Denney