Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: tastes great...or great taste?


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Posted by Rick Denney on April 07, 2003 at 09:08:37:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: tastes great...or great taste? posted by js on April 06, 2003 at 13:30:55:

I agree (except for the spelling of "subtle" which I could see even through befogged bifocals, heh, heh). When I compared the sound of my Holton to that of other large tubas in the store, it was noticeable. But I think what was driving the difference was the efficiency of the Holton that made it easier for me to get a good sound on it. A good player might have noticed much less difference. Medium players such as me are highly sensitive to tubas that are in any way hard to blow.

The description Joe gives of the 2165 seems right on the mark for my Holton. It is more mellow than the Willson 3100 that I compared it to, and the low register isn't quite as easy. It took me a couple of months before I could do much of anything in the fourth-valve register.

On the York Master, those low F's fairly leap out of the instrument. Dale has described a similar difference between his Holton and his smaller Boehm and Meinl. Now that I'm used to it, though, I love the way the Holton plays in that register. I just have to keep reminding myself to relax and let the horn do the work.

I haven't gotten similar results from the 2165's I've played, mind you. To me, they were all like driving a truck compared to the Holton. But I suspect there are 2165's and 2165's, just as there are Holtons and Holtons.

One sound characteristic I do always listen for in the big tubas, though, that I think just about anybody would be sensitive to: Some big tubas (or their players) tend to a woofiness that robs the sound of its clarity. Big tubas are not about sounding dark (my definition of dark: stronger in the low partials and weaker in the upper partials), but rather about a rich array of both low and high harmonic content (which pros define as "color"). Too big a mouthpiece can do this, it seems to me.

Not that any of this has anything to do with Ken's question.

Rick "who likes the edge of the Holton--edgy but with no hint of spread" Denney


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