Re: Re: what was the first horn you played?


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Posted by more? on January 26, 2002 at 01:42:09:

In Reply to: Re: what was the first horn you played? posted by Joe S. on January 26, 2002 at 01:04:03:

I played a HEAVY King metal sousaphone the next year (age 12) which messed up my neck and shoulders for life - and again in ninth grade.

In tenth grade, I got to use a two-year-old Conn 36K fiberglass sousaphone, and I thought I was in heaven. I still didn't own my own mouthpiece, though. In the 11th grade, I bought a Conn Helleburg, but it was the "wrong" one (for me) - a 7B. I didn't know the difference. (My Dad kept making references to how tuba mouthpieces looked like they were designed for funneling "specimens", so I really didn't "read up" on mouthpieces that much.)

When I was in the 12th grade, I resurrected a leaky old 3V upright bell King "Symphony Bass". (model 1240?) All of the pistons were worn out, so I yanked the pistons out of the (shelved) King metal sousa (that I played in the 8th and 9th grade) and put them in the King tuba. A few months later, my band director brought in a brand new Mirafone 1270 (3V - top action). It stunk (no sound - no tone), so I continued to play the semi-leaky King. A month later, he brought in a brand new Reynolds (3V front action) TB-10 (same as Olds O-99 and later Bach "Mercedes".) That particular Reynolds was sort of a stinker (many of these are fairly OK), so I continued to play the King until I graduated.

The summer after I graduated, I bought a MiraPHone 186-CC that Giardinelli obviously (note "PH") imported directly from Germany without going through MiraFone in California (back then - located in Sun Valley, CA), and I bought a Bach 7 ("hissssssss") mouthpiece to go with it, on someone else's recommendation.

Joe "too much information" S.


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