Posted by Ola on September 17, 2001 at 11:28:24:
In Reply to: Removable Bells... posted by Joshua Cutchin on September 15, 2001 at 11:05:26:
Some people claim that the added weight to the bell improves the general sound of the instrument. I'm not going to say anything about that, as I have very little experience with detachable-bell instruments, even though I have played some from time to time.
One advantage must be that you can have a recording bell for the instrument as well, which can, needless to say, be quite interesting and quite possibly be quite fun.
A disadvantage, though, can be the weight of the instrument. I once borrowed a detachable-bell PT-6p to do an orchestra gig on. It was a piece with a lot of rests in it, but I ended up having the tuba on my lap all the time because when I in the first rehearsals put it down and picked it up as I use to do, I had quite severe back-pains all the rest of the day. That may have been enhanced by the fact that the instrument also was top-heavy because of the ring. Also, carrying it around was a lot more stressful than need be. I would prefer a normal-bell PT-6 (or PT-6p) any day.
Ola