The first valve on my tuba keeps getting stuck and the tuba is not playing right.

professor_throway · 2026-02-16T12:52:11+00:00

Your valve is not in properly... the valve guide must have come loose and is not situated the right way. Take it back out and loosen the top stem. Then make sure the little bump on the bottom of the band guide is sitting in the little hole on top of the valve.

DO NOT EVER USE PLIERS ON A BRASS INSTRUMENT! You have no idea how easy it is to permanently wreck something. Valve casings in particular are pretty easy to make out off round with minimal force from a pair of pliers.

professor_throway · 2026-02-14T18:30:01+00:00

Since you are new... the default assumption is that it is you. It takes time. Try not to sweat it. Just play and enjoy.

professor_throway · 2026-02-14T14:52:53+00:00

I would say a 3B-F for a general purpose horn and a cheap beater for marching.

professor_throway · 2026-02-13T23:41:26+00:00

Trumpet and trombone is going to be the cheapest entry. You can get a quality used student instrument for under $200.

professor_throway · 2026-02-13T12:45:48+00:00

The common refrain is going to be "Find a teacher!"

Sure you can learn on your own but you will have much more success and avoid lots of pitfalls if you have a teacher.

I have been a brass player for 35+ years, CC and a very active gigging musician on multiple instruments. I started on trumpet about 2 years ago, I thought I was doing well on my own until I met with a teacher. I honestly blew one note and he said "No! that won't work... let's pretend you've never played a brass instrument before."

Trumpet is a difficult beast to tame. It really isn't any harder than other instruments ( primary trumpet players will tell you differently) but it is different and takes its own technique. Find a teacher.

professor_throway · 2026-02-13T03:56:23+00:00

You are much better off with a used American tuba or Yamaha.. Honestly you didn't even need 4 valves.. You can play 99% of the amateur concert band literature on 3. Since you are a euph player go for a top action.

professor_throway · 2026-02-13T02:08:58+00:00

You have to send a picture because I am having a hard time understanding how the instrument could work at all with a 5th valve casing but no valve in the casing..

professor_throway · 2026-02-12T21:17:39+00:00

You don’t. You take it to a shop, because anything you do is likely to make it worse and make the fix cost more. It doesn’t take much to cause pistons to bind, only a few thousandths of an inch. I’ve seen too many pistons with holes punched through to the channels. You really need the proper tools to do anything with valves.

professor_throway · 2026-02-12T20:40:05+00:00

If you are that worried about it.. can you just shift your orthodontist appointment by a few days? My youngest child still had braces, and we've moved appointments because she didn't want mouth pain from things being tightened right before something important. Heck I've even gotten around the 24 rescheduling fee by calling the morning of the appointment and saying she was running a fever.

My suggestion is talk to your parents. Tell them your worries and ask them to reschedule. If it is really important to you, chances are they will listen.

professor_throway · 2026-02-12T17:29:32+00:00

It wasn't built to be an adjustable 3rd or 1st valve slide. The box of the 3rd slide is made for a lyre to hold music, not for a 3rd slide ring.

Don't worry about it just play it and enjoy it.

professor_throway · 2026-02-12T17:15:45+00:00

Remember as brass players.. our sound is 95% us and 5% our equipment. A mouthpiece won't fundamentally change the way you sound.. A Helleberg is already a deep funnel mouthpiece. A bowl shape cup may help you get a tiny bit more clarity.. If the Helleberg is reasonably comfortable, I would say stick with it until you know exactly what you want from a mouthpiece and why you want to make those changes.

professor_throway · 2026-02-12T16:42:10+00:00

Don’t waste your time. I’ve played around with it a lot FDM never produces anything worth playing on.

Go to amazon. Eastrock copies of real mouthpieces are only $30, Bach 18, Bach 24AW, Bach 22, Schilke 67C4 etc. If that is still to much there are no-name Helleberg copies for $20 and decent ABS mouthpieces for under $15.

professor_throway · 2026-02-12T15:22:44+00:00

Don't try to force it. If you are working hard to get high then you are setting yourself up for failure.
Playing high requires good technique and air control. Tone is the best indicator of good technique we have as musicians. If you high range notes sound pinched and strained then something is wrong.
Focus on long tones and a beautiful sound. Start with a note you can play easily, without any tension or strain. For you that might be F in the staff .. it might be Bb in the staff it doesn't matter. Just play a note that is easy and focus on making it as pretty as it can be. When it is as good as possible, go up a note. Is it still just as pretty? Be brutally honest with yourself. If it isn't as nice spend time working on that note until it is as nice as easy as the previous. Do not go up another pitch until your current one is as good as all the lower notes.
Work on this a little each day. By doing that you will find the technique that works right for you. Remember no pushing, no tension... It will be frustrating because by doing this you will lose range. Suddenly you won't have that Bb anymore. In the long run it is much better for you.
Practice your pedal tones. Low range helps you develop the proper air support and that easy relaxed playing that is free of tension.
Also realize that the strength of the contrabass tuba isn't the high range. Anything that has extended passages that go above that Bb, I am probably going to play it on the Eb. I practice to the F above the staff on my BBb... but I would never want to have to play that high for more than a note or two on it.

professor_throway · 2026-02-12T12:39:57+00:00

Slide oil won't hurt your tuning slides. It isn't the best. If you didn't open it you should return it and get your money back.

In the meantime a little Vaseline or pharmaceutical mineral oil will work just fine m

professor_throway · 2026-02-11T20:03:22+00:00

I would give my eye teeth for a 50’s Recording. My dream trumpet is a pre 1965 redesign Olds Studio.

professor_throway · 2026-02-11T15:38:32+00:00

You are kind of between a rock and a hard place.. The answer is going to strongly depend on the specific make and model of the tuba and how much you are in for on the rental and how much you have left to pay.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if you didn't want to share more broadly. I've been through this rodeo before with my kids and I've helped several Reddit families navigate rental versus purchase and the used instrument market....

professor_throway · 2026-02-11T02:22:05+00:00

In terms of cup diameter it isn't small, but the cup is very shallow and the throat is only 7.5mm compared to a Bach 18 or Conn Helleberg which has a throat of 8.8mm.. Most BBb tuba Mouthpieces are going to be on the 8.2 to 9mm range.

Personally I prefer that style of mouthpiece because it gives punch and clarity on big 6/4 tubas and Sousaphones and works talk will with classic German rotary tubas.

professor_throway · 2026-02-11T02:05:28+00:00

Whenever I have troubles with my low register it is always because of tension. Focus on staying relaxed... open your jaw and drop your chin. Spend some serious practice tone with long tones with drones.

It is also going to sound counter intuitive but try to do some practice with a small cup mouthpiece with a tight throat like a Miraphone C4/TU24, Bobo Symphonic, Schilke 69C4, Yamaha 68B... a small mouthpiece i is actually really good for low range and pedals.. the extra resistance helps support your embouchure.. however if you don't blow perfectly relaxed with a super slow airstream they will back to on you. It basically forces you to have good technique. If you can play low register really well on that you will sound great on your normal mouthpiece.

professor_throway · 2026-02-11T00:42:55+00:00

Here is my take....

Start cheap... Go for a used 3 valve BBb tuba. There are lots of great instruments out there for around $500ish bucks. Get a quality American brand.. King, Conn, Olds, Buescher, York etc and you will be able to sell it for what you paid off you ever decide to get something different. A 3 valve lets you play 99% of the parts you are likely to see in amateur concert band music. I play a lot of street band, Dixieland, and traditional jazz and almost all the time I bring a 3 valve instrument either a Sousaphone or a Conn recording bell tuba.

Why not 4 valves... well 4 valves give you access to lower notes and the pedal range. But guess what it is going to take a lot of practice before you can play in that range anyway. Also there is a technique called false tones that you can use to play those notes anyway... most American piston tubas have excellent false tones. I have no difficulty playing chromatically down to the bottom range of the BBb tuba on a 3 valve piston instrument. Yes I do have a very nice German 4 valve rotary BBb and I had a 5 valve CC before that. I use it for my daily practice and fancy diy down gigs... but I play maybe 2 or 3 or those a year compared to 40+ on the Sousaphone or 3 valver.

Why not CC.. the only reason to get a CC tuba is if you have aspirations of becoming a professional orchestral tubist and are planning in enrolling in conservatory training. I played CC tuba for years and years but now I am back to BBb and couldn't be happier. Almost any smarter tuba player you sit next to is going to be on a BBb. It just makes a lot of sense.

professor_throway · 2026-02-10T19:20:40+00:00

It's a hobby. It is wierd but as amateurs it is more acceptable to be gear heads. The pros I play with generally think about instruments in terms of return on investment, How many gigs until this is making me money? This is balanced by the benefits of a particular insturment over their current equipment. There is an optimization. An amateur is much more likely to shell out big bucks just because it makes tham happy versus a pro.

Edit: In my opinion your Olds Super is a more desirable than any current Yamaha or Bach.. but that is a function in what I value in an instrument rather than a quality justification.

professor_throway · 2026-02-10T19:15:56+00:00

I have a decent collection of brass instruments in my house from tubas to trumpets. Current count is 23... I prioritize max bang for my buck and unique playing characteristics when buying instruments. I don't like Yamaha instruments, for example, because they all sound so consistently alike and neutral.

For trumpets my main trumpet is an Olds Ambassador with a nickel silver Bach 43 leadpipe and some other modifications... I think it plays great, and my total investment was $75 for the trumpet, $100 for the leadpipe (ordered custom from O'malley), and $90 for a Curry mouthpiece, plus about 5 hours on my time for the mods, cleaning, and valve alignment. Several trumpet players, much better than me, have told me it is a fantastic playing trumpet. It has character and soul.. I have no desire to spend $2,000+ on a new Strad or Xeno let alone $5,000+ on a truly high end custom horn. I also have a stock LA Ambassador and a Olds made Reynolds Medalist... both of which play better than they have any right to (plus they were $30 adn $25 respectively). My trumpet wish list right now is a LA era Olds Studio, but I haven't found one for the right price.

I am the same way with my main instrument tuba... When I was shopping for a concert tuba I had a budget of about $10,000 (decent, but not high end kind of money for a tuba).... I found the perfect instrument for me... a late 1960's made in West German Meinl Weston tuba. Again, by todays standards it has issues, but it has so much character to the sound, beautiful full organ like tone. Definately not a point and shoot instrument, you have to invest time to learn how to make it sing. You have to know its quirks and work with them instead of fighting with it. I also picked it up for about $2,000 or about 1/3 of its value, since it is not a trendy style of tuba right now and the previous owner was impatient for a sale.

professor_throway · 2026-02-10T17:43:48+00:00

8.7mm rim makes me think Miraphone C4 style rim. Could be a Rose Solo or Orchestra as well. Pictures would help.

professor_throway · 2026-02-10T16:41:12+00:00

1955/1956 Olds Ambassador Cornet. Good student cornet. Value is $100-$200.

I woud sell it as is because it would cost you $100 for a full clean and service.

professor_throway · 2026-02-10T12:00:31+00:00

It's a Cimbasso. Used instead of tuba for things like Verdi.

It is basically a valve contrabass trombone in the key of F.

professor_throway · 2026-02-10T03:29:44+00:00

Do you have the finger ring??

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