Posted by Klaus on April 20, 2001 at 20:34:50:
In Reply to: why compensating, really? posted by Joe S. on April 20, 2001 at 09:45:53:
Being in great love with my YEP 641 I of course have had to ask myself, why to pay the extra costs for 3 extra in tune semitones, if one not takes the additional step to mount a main tuning slide trigger to get full in-tune chromatism down to the fundamental and even far beyond that.
Part of the answer came from a friendly person at B&H (probably the single one there) when I phoned to ask why the compensating Besson 981 Eb bass was so extremely much better than its non-comp equivalent from the 700 series, which had some overly responsive notes, that a string player would call "wolf" notes. At least in Dano/Germano terms.
The answer was, that the added weight and rigidity provided by the more complicated comp pistons and tubings cancelled out these wolf notes.
My YEP 641 is heavy on my left arm in standing concerts. I have to be aware of not getting sloppy in articulating parts of the middle and upper registers, when using a very large mouthpiece. But it is a reliable instrument.
I am member of a local band, the main quality of which is that it is local. Having some experience with clefs and transposition I have subbed on almost any part from 1st horn to BBb bass (before I got my own tubas) using the 641. In such position as a sweeper (soccer and household term alike) one can not avoid loving ones comp euph.
It is not a badly baked idea to have a plain 3 valve euph with a 3rd valve trigger to be used on marching. In fact the single euph player of our Royal Guard band is using such an instrument from Hirsbrunner for parades. Whereas his concert instrument of course is a 4 valve comp instrument.
Joe S. and I have long ago agreed on the 4 valve non-comp Weril euph being a very good instrument. But honestly Joe: Are you not slightly annoyed by the Weril formants in the area just above 1KHz (a guess)? Be they even so very discrete?
Klaus