Posted by Frederick J. Young on June 23, 2001 at 20:17:09:
In Reply to: bell front vs upright bell posted by Dave C on June 23, 2001 at 12:18:45:
The recording bell was made for recording in the early days of recording in the early part of the 20th century. Then all recording was purely mechanical being driven by styluses attached to diaphram which picked up the sound waves. The string bass sound was too weak and the upright bell tubas were too muddy sounding. Someone pointed the tuba bell at the recording horn and it recorded the tuba well. Then it was obvious that a recording bell would be best. The tubas grew tubbier and tubbier so that they would sound like string basses because tubas were used in almost all classical and dance recordings.
From an acoustical standpoint, articulations from a recording bell are clearer than they are from an upright bell because the high frequencies come out perpendicular to the axis of the bell. The low frequencies come out side ways and the lowest backwards. When I first played in bands and orchestras in the 1940's no one except oldsters used upright bells because they were thought to be inefficient. And acoustically they are as all the high frequency sound goes up into the curtains where it is lost to all but moths. When I played a bell front bell in the Pittsburgh Symphony there were no objections. During all that time Bill Bell and Arnold Jacobs were increasing in stature (as well as girth) and their use of old fashioned instruments was used to explain why they were becoming so great. Suddenly college band and orchestra directors who knew almost nothing about tubas became experts who banished the bell front tuba. Tuba sounds have not been as well articulated since. Have you noticed how many tubists in quintets sit so that their bell points at the audience? If you like your recording bell use it. If anyone complains tell them you can always play softer and the you can see no reason to waste energy in the curtains.
However, many ignorant conductors will give you a hard time because they would rather see a tuba than hear one. In more than 58 years of tuba playing I have never seen a tubist reprimanded for playing too soft or not at all. The (in)famous Dr. Dick Strange from Arizona U. thinks a tuba should be felt not heard! That is not possible because no number of tubas has enough low frequency energy to shake anything! Tubas and most other bass instruments are really fake and depend on the ear to imagine it is hearing the fundamental which the ear constructs out of all the harmonics.