Posted by Bill on July 25, 2003 at 16:42:06:
How did these support the tubas? Did the ball fit into some kind of protruding hole? The new carriage belts for Besson tubas without the balls are different, aren't they? But do they still support the weight of the tuba by the waist as opposed to the shoulders as even the best-in-the-market Meinl Weston seem to do.
I am thinking of cutting the ball off the bottom bow of my Imperial EEb and buying a Meinl Weston tuba harness, or I would like to keep the ball if the carriage belt works well. I might buy the modern version of the carriage belt (I am supposing it does not support the tuba by means of the ball) if the modern version supports the weight by the waist and not the shoulders.
Does anyone have any comments about the way the carriage belts supported the old tubas with the ball on the bottom bow?
Does anyone have a used carriage belt or Meinl Weston harness that I could buy through PayPal or a Mastercard? I would just buy them new if I could try them, but I live far from any stores.
Thanks for any assistance you can give.
(I am interested in this because my main tuba has a high, angled leadpipe that was the precursor of the 982 Marching tubas and it definitely seems to be more responsive if it is played in a marching position rather than very upright and parallel with the body.)
Best regards, Bill