So, I have this annoying habit of naming my horns.

My first Euphonium (a Selman - which is a cheap, knock-off of the Selmer brand, and most likely a Chinese horn) was aptly named: 'El Cheapo.'

The one I currently have and enjoy, the Jupiter 470L, I named 'Nacho Horn.' Those who know me might remember my 'Nacho this, Nacho that' phase where everything I owned that was in plain site at work was labled 'Nacho (insert item here).' It made good conversation, and helped me track down the crap other people made off with. My pal Steve came up with that name, and it stuck.

My Blessing M300 Marching Baritone is named: 'Not-So-Wee.' My buddy Dave told a joke about a T-shirt salesman in Scotland explaining the differences in sizes. (in his best Scottish accent) "In Scotland, we dinna hae Small, Medium, an' Large. We hae 'Wee,' 'Not-so-Wee,' and 'F00kin' Huge!' For the sake of possibly referring to the horn in public, I went with 'Not-so-Wee.'

The Jupiter 468 Baritone - I haven't actually come up with one yet. Wow - gotta work on that one.

My 1922 Conn Constellation Valve-Trombone, I've referred to as 'Old Fart' and 'Old Faithful,' but can't really settle on something that really fits it yet.

But, not even 5 minutes of pulling the tuba out of the case and I had it: Ugly Bessie. The tuba is a Besson 600, and my wife keeps commenting on how ugly it is (because of all the dings, dents, and other damage). But it sounds great and the valves work very well, considering its age and apparent state of being.

So, there it is. Today's ramblings. Enjoy.