Posted by Jim Andrada on September 30, 2002 at 17:22:40:
In Reply to: Gigantic Tubas posted by A Random Tubist on September 30, 2002 at 01:55:31:
1) They're not really 8 feet tall - more like a scant 7'
2) They weigh a ton (figuratively speaking)
3) The valves are hard to reach from behind the mouthpiece
4) The piston travel is extremely long
5) The valves are pretty spread out ==> you need largish hands
6) They're in BBBb (I've heard of one that wasn't, though)
7) A good player can make them sound pretty nice. I've heard Chester Schmitz play one and it was great
8) A not so good player (me) sounds like *(AT)`*(AT) on them.
9) Range is up to the player, but I doubt you could really play the pedal BBBb
I played the Harvard BBBb in the late 50's/early 60's for a couple of outdoor concerts. It was mainly a joke - something to do with my ability, but also that's what we had intended. We did Tortoises from Carnival of the Animals and it was sort of cute.
I saw the horn a couple of years back so it's still there, but I didn't get a chance to play it.
If you're anywhere near Boston, give the Harvard Band a call and I'm sure they'll let you look at it and even give it a toot.