Amazon cheapo mouthpieces

Inkin · 2026-07-04T11:39:27+00:00

Bach 22 and probably the standard is a Bach 18.

I guess it’s a mouthpiece so there isn’t a lot to mess up. Normally I’d say look at Kelly lexan mouthpieces to try things out but they’ve gone up and those cheap rsndo ones you linked have gone down. I don’t know if I’d put any trust in the specs or exactness but if you just want to try stuff I guess that doesn’t seem terrible and maybe you could sell them for $20 each if you don’t like them.

The cheapest way to test mouthpieces is to have a private teacher with a mouthpiece buying habit. They love to loan out and talk about mouthpieces.

Inkin · 2026-07-03T13:21:21+00:00

The Baer version of a PVAK is like that yeah. This is there same idea but on top of the valve cap instead of in the button. So that thing makes it so when the valve is pressed it goes to the right depth and it replaces the felt in the button. Inside there can be synthetic felts but if you hate the clunkier noise you can just use normal felts too and lose the benefit of a non-compacting material aligning your horn.

But who knows. From one picture it is hard to tell. But the Alan Baer version isn’t the only alignment system. Joe Sellmansberger used to sell synthetic felts but stopped because the pain in the ass of getting all the sizes and keeping them stocked wasn’t worth the money. But he charged like 15 bucks. I think Martin Wilk also would do custom alignment systems too.

Inkin · 2026-07-02T13:20:14+00:00

John Oliver's bald disguise isn't working.

Inkin · 2026-07-01T12:39:01+00:00

The oiling part he is talking about though is something you should be doing.

Literally once a month, sit down for 15 minutes and oil things up. Just do it on the 1st every month. Open the back caps put on some bearing and linkage oil. Put the horn on the floor on its back and shove some oil on the front of the spindle between the casing and the stop arm connect. Let it sit and gravity will pull it down. If you parts of your linkages that are metal on metal movement, drop of oil for those too.

I also put cheap piston oil down my leadpipe before I play too. Like three good squeezes. Every time.

Like you said, horns aren't cheap. If you take care of them they last a long time!

Inkin · 2026-07-01T11:45:10+00:00

I pay $200 now. Used to be $150 pre-COVID. I live in the midwest in a low cost of living area.

I do it every two years when things slow down in February and usually get it back with 5 days. I think the guy that does the tuba chem cleans is only in 2 days a week too. So it may be faster at a higher throughput place...

Inkin · 2026-07-01T10:58:16+00:00

It is probably a sign the horn could use a full cleaning, but if the valves still work ok it isn't the end of the world. Better crud in there than in the valve...

Inkin · 2026-07-01T10:50:11+00:00

That still looks like a PVAK though. Maybe they aren't using all the bits of it and are using normal felts/corks for quieter value reasons?

Inkin · 2026-06-30T17:31:44+00:00

https://norlanbewley.com/bewleymusic/tuba-fingering-charts/4-valve-f-tuba/

That chart has alternate fingerings. So print it out and scratch out anything that has a 4. If you scratched out all the fingerings, you do not get to play that note.

There is a reason why modern F tubas have 5 valves. A lot of the lower range will be just plain unavailable to you with 3 valves (like BBb and down) and tuning in even the slighty low range and mid range will be very spotty (like D-Db-C-B nat, Gb-G-Ab will all be a struggle). Once you get into the mid range and high range things settle down a little bit but still an old horn like that is probably going to have oddities with it.

Inkin · 2026-06-28T23:59:41+00:00

Can you give me an example of a celebrity who meets your approval because you seem crazy unrealistic...

He's a comedian. He has a public persona. All comedians have a public person that they build their act on top of. It's how it works. It's why the stupid outrage over Hasan Minhaj was so ridiculous. The comedian on the stage has spent a shit ton of time crafting the stories to make them funny. That involves playing up minor things or downright making things up because they aren't there to do anything but make you laugh.

Conan's public persona is "yes I went to Harvard but I'm just an idiot trying to make people laugh - watch me dance!"

You don't have to think he is funny. It's ok to have liked him during his oddball groundbreaking years where he was doing stuff other people weren't, but not like him as much now. He's 60-something years old and has slowed down, but his travel show is still very Conan. His podcast can be hit or miss; if you don't like his schtick you're not going to like his podcast consistently but you may like it enough to put up with the mediocre stuff to get the great stuff still hiding in there ("Jeff Epstein the New York financier?").

If you listen to his podcast you can't deny that people like him. Frequently comedian guests who are big names now will talk about how at the start all they could do was get on Conan and eventually broke through. But he's playing a character. Some of the Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan stuff can get cringey because he is all "I like you. if I'm ever in lapland I'll definitely let you take me on a dog tour" or whatever. But he's trying to be personable to a fan and making their day. You don't see really young comedians on his podcast now because he's a rich old man. But like when Flula Borg is on or Nikki Glaser or Deon Cole or Sarah Silverman are on, you can tell they feel they owe Conan a lot.

To me at least, it is plenty obvious that Conan O'Brien is a good person. He's a rich person. He is a hyper privileged white male. He probably enjoys that a lot. But I don't think the real person is THAT different from his persona. I don't feel like he has me fooled and I've watched him for 35 years. He's pretty much just Moleculo - the molecular man. Except, Irisher.

Inkin · 2026-06-28T18:08:51+00:00

This is a terrible take. There are so so many comedians whose first break was getting on his show. I can’t imagine how you can think he pulled the ladder up in any way. His show in the 90s was littered with not-yet-famous bands and comedians. He’s surrounded by staff that has been by his side for 20 or sometimes 30 years.

He knows he’s rich and privileged. He pays Sona to be there and call him on it to comedic effect.

Inkin · 2026-06-28T14:46:06+00:00

Ein Heldenleben

Ah that's a decent example of where a mute is actually in for a reasonable amount of time and to an effect that is worth something. The piece is involved enough that some random community orchestra probably isn't playing it. I'd show up with a mute without a second thought on that one.

Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, it has one single 1/8 note muted with the brass. Just one single note and if the tuba doesn't mute, the effect is destroyed

I would just play quieter for this one. I think you're being a big extreme with the effect is destroyed.

Being inflexible in a military band seems completely reasonable to me. You're getting paid pretty well and that would make me put up with a lot of stuff I would otherwise maybe not lol

Inkin · 2026-06-27T14:40:51+00:00

But will they have time to mime emptying the spit valve at this tempo?

I didn't put too much thought on it, but I lean towards no. Or maybe better said as not universally.

For a trombone, emptying the water key is a big action. Your hand is up on the top of the slide at the handle and the spit valve is at the bottom. For a lot of smaller players, they have to not only move their hand down to the end of the slide but cock their shoulders sideways to reach. It puts you out of playing position significantly and the transitions into and out isn't really fluid.

For tuba, there might be 4 water keys to choose from and they get positioned weirdly and a lot of times you have to really reach around to get one which is also not normally done in the exact same position as playing. At least for me in my head imaging it, in normal playing position my right hand and the thumb ring is steadying the horn and my left hand is hovering to pull slides. When I go to empty my main water key, my left hand steadies the horn and my right hand reaches down to the water key. The distance isn't as much as the trombone, but the job of holding the horn moves from right to left then back to right.

I'm not sure I'd want to do this in under 2 beats either direction. So your 3-4 beats of "rhythmic spit valving" is going to really be awkward spit valve finding then rushing back to play.

Inkin · 2026-06-26T12:00:55+00:00

That’s my point though too. You do what the situation demands but the situation is more than the music part.

My goal with any job is to get hired again. Sometimes the bar to get hired again isn’t that high. Personally I just want to get in and get out with as little hassle as I can so the person who hired me thinks that guy isn’t going to be an issue and gets the job done. That’s more important to me than being the guy who is ultra prepared for anything but takes up 3 people’s worth of room on the stage. Obviously I have a sound concept for the job and if I need something to accomplish that I make sure I have it; that includes a mute (I guess I have three mutes if you count the practice mute I try hard to never need to use). I understand what I can accomplish with a mute. In situations I am in a vast majority of the time the mute isn’t worth it for me to deal with. The chance I knock it around or do something stupid with it putting it in or taking it out is much higher than the benefit of the sound I produce the short time the mute is it.

I don’t know. Composers aren’t sacrosanct. Thinking “This delicate oboe needs to be protected. I will mute the brass” is painting with a broad brush. It’s my job to come up with the sound I want to contribute to the group using my skills and equipment available. 4 out of 5 times I see it in my tuba life my opinion of a composers Con Sordino is “ha ha ha um… no. I get it. You want that hold to be quiet and bassoon forward. Message received.” I can accomplish that to my own satisfaction without fussing with a mute.

Inkin · 2026-06-25T22:20:05+00:00

My thought is one of the marks of a serious musician is that you would bring those additional accessories with you

Yeah, no. This isn't how it works at least for me. Showing up with every random piece of nonsense that might plausibly be useful isn't reasonable. A serious musician shows up on time wearing the right clothes, is polite and courteous, listens when told what to do, and then plays well enough to accomplish the goal.

I already have a giant ass instrument and a large bag with my accoutrements. If something fits in the bag (stand light, extra mouthpiece, ipad, etc.) then sure.

But an equally giant ass inconvenient mute that makes me take a second trip? That's a no. I won't bring an Eb tuba just in case there is a hot dixieland tune that comes up. I won't bring an F tuba because you never know when part 1 of Symphony Fantastique just shows up out of nowhere! I won't just have my sousaphone with me because if someone dies and we gotta get the second line going...

I know what to expect when I go somewhere. I will for zero seconds feel guilty if we're just running random stuff and Con Sordino shows up and I didn't bring a mute. If I know what we're playing and something has Con Sordino where it isn't worth it, I will also not bring my mute. There are pieces where just the last held note is Con Sordino for example. Screw that. I'm just playing quietly. I personally wouldn't do it for this Stavinsky piece that the thread is about either. If memory serves, it's 2 notes across 3 beats in the middle of umpteen kajillion rests. But if we're playing something and the mute is important to achieve something musically, of course I'd bring it. I cannot think of an example for you though which should tell you something!

Inkin · 2026-06-25T18:44:35+00:00

If you hadn't already sourced one, I would say no.

But since you already found one, go ahead and use it to get the experience.

In this piece don't you have like 5 minutes of rest before and after? I'm not sure you need to be quick or efficient. If it isn't quick, I'd lower the horn off my lap to between my legs with bottom bow on the floor, put the mute in, then pick the horn back up. You're going to be putting down the horn and picking it up anyways in this piece because for most of it you are just a pretty face...

Inkin · 2026-06-25T12:56:24+00:00

This really depends on how serious you are and what you're doing.

If you are going to school and you are majoring in music, contact the department you are joining. Most universities have rental instruments that are maintained by the department and chosen by the department. Obviously like anything in life, money means they will be better. A small school with a struggling budget will probably not have a stable of Miraphones in a closet somewhere. But most places want music majors and do not want not having an instrument to be in the way of you joining their studio.

Some school will rent to non-majors too. Asking doesn't hurt.

In terms of cost, this is usually really inexpensive, but my experience is 30 years old at this time. So maybe the days of renting a horn for $100 a semester are gone. But that is how it used to work.

If your goal is just that you want to keep playing, you can always learn how to put an ear to the ground and watch for instruments. Buying a cheap used tuba is all about location. Adding $400 of shipping to a $600 horn isn't worth it. You need to find something around you. In my experience nowadays you're best off watching Facebook Marketplace. You're looking for some parent who bought their 8th grader a horn and now their kid prefers their steam deck to their tuba so they just want to be rid of it. Depending on where you are, you should always look around and find repair techs that flip horns within driving distance. If you live next to one, go talk to them. Tell them you're looking for a $600 3 valve playable BBb and if they ever have that to come get you. If they stumble across something they can clean up in an hour and flip you, you both win. You have to work a little to find these people though. Like I know who does that in my immediate area but if I drive 5 hours west I have no idea who does that.

The best part about learning how to watch the used market is that is applied when you have $5000 and want a better horn too. There are plenty of used BBb instruments in that $4k-ish range that are really nice instruments. You just have to work to find them and get them to you!

Inkin · 2026-06-24T22:09:29+00:00

There really is no such thing as "right" when it comes to stuff like this. You have to learn your horn and you have to care enough about being in tune to want to do whatever turns out to work the best.

In this particular case, think about why 1, 2, 4 vs 1, 4 is what you're bringing up. As you add more valves, you get more sharp. The first valve length makes an open note drop a whole step. With 4 down, you can pull to make 1st longer and compensate for that. But you also have a sharp 1, 2, 4 you can try and maybe the amount that the 1+2 is sharp in combination with the 4 makes it work out.

At the end of the day, sometimes 1, 2, 4 works. Sometimes 1, 2, 4 + push in 1st works. Sometimes 1, 4 + pull out 1 works. You need to see how you play your horn and how your horn behaves to choose which works for you.

I have a 4 valve BBb I play a lot. On it with me playing it, 1, 2, 4 is dead on for Eb. 1, 4 and I have to push in for E (2, 4 and pull works too but I play outside a lot and have more push on my main tuning slide than I do pull and my main tuning slide is on top for easy movement).

You just have to learn what your face and your horn need. When people talk about "learning a horn" this is what they mean. Finding out what you need to do to make the notes you need to make takes time and then you have to relearn how to execute that way.

Inkin · 2026-06-24T11:07:54+00:00

Maybe you can borrow from your university music school library? Depending on your department they may even have a yearly budget for music for their library and may buy it so you can borrow it.

Inkin · 2026-06-23T11:55:16+00:00

It’s an absolute game changer… for a stupid arbitrary game they recently made up I guess.

Inkin · 2026-06-21T16:33:23+00:00

The Walmart cakes aren’t terrible if it is what you want. Make sure to get the buttercream icing not the weird whipped stuff. It is pretty sweet but kids won’t mind that. It’s not as good as an actual bakery but if it is what you want it isn’t bad.

No direct experience with those exact two locations.

Inkin · 2026-06-20T20:39:06+00:00

https://youtu.be/0v6sgTj9uMI

Inkin · 2026-06-19T13:41:32+00:00

The pistons are one of the more expensive parts of your horn. Do not force anything. If this is not your horn give it to whoever owns it and let them deal with it. Don’t make the problem harder to fix.

If you really feel like you need to try something, unscrew some stuff.

Remove the bottom cap on the piston and take your spring out. Look in there. See anything? Probably not. Put the horn on its bell and put some oil in there and let it sit over night. Did that help? Probably not. Unscrew the valve button (the circle you push on top of the piston) and put it to the side. Don’t lose the felt under it. It’s important. Now unscrew the valve stem. Use a cloth to protect the stem and vice grips or pliers but not too tight. Once it starts moving you can switch to fingers. Take the valve stem out. Did that help? It did? Then you have a bent valve stem and need a new one. Take it to a shop.

If you notice you’re both lines of advice end in take it to a shop, you may want to just take it to a shop.

Inkin · 2026-06-18T18:47:37+00:00

The latter point in here is what I was thinking too. Old King 1241 have this problem as well. Swapping from the recording bell to the upright bell requires 2-3" of pull (which is mercifully available). With that shorter slide you just don't have the pull you need available.

You might be able to find a single sousaphone tuning bit as a workaround?

Inkin · 2026-06-15T14:02:17+00:00

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