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Hello everyone, Kevin Smith here, Mr. TubaLove, talking about various finishes on the tuba.
You'll find three primary types of finish used. One which is this kind right here is
a silver finish. You can find what's called a lacquered brass. You see those in a lot
of bands. It's just they look like a kind of a shinier thing. And raw brass which actually
is a lacquered finish there in. Very, very infrequently you'll find as I have someone
who plays a tuba with a gold plated finish. That requires more money than I'll probably
ever have, but it's out there for if you have the money. So anyways, there's some arguments
in different schools about which of the finishes give the better sound. This and that and the
other. But one point of agreement is that the silver horn here does tend to get a warmer
sound than the other kinds of finish do. And the raw brass will produce a darker sound
in the lower registers. And in my experience though, just for upkeep, the lacquered brass
is the easiest to take care of because the lacquer is a good protectant unlike the silver
here. You can see some tarnish that shows up in various parts. I've had the horn since
2001 and man I take what I think is outstanding care of it. But no matter under any circumstances
it does start to show some tarnish. And I can get a, get a silver re-buff. But it will
cost some bucks to do that. So, at any rate, those are your options on the finish of the
tuba.