Posted by Klaus on August 03, 2000 at 18:21:16:
In Reply to: Updates to my web page posted by Rick Denney on August 02, 2000 at 01:58:33:
Rick’s description of his German and American (but German made) BBbs is very interesting.
The reference to the parallels in loudspeakers is something to think about. I happen to own a York Master myself, and I was one of those asked for advise before Rick’s investment in his York.
My YM has a recording bell. From any point of view this must create some additional problems of design not even encountered in the design of a sousaphone.
The bell of a sousa is bent with a not too small radius. The sousa stack being behind the back of the player does allow for the bell to protrude a good deal forward from the stack without disturbing the overall balance of the instrument.
If the recording bell did protrude that much from the stack of a tuba, then it would cause the tuba to be very front heavy. Making it hard to keep it steadily upright.
At least the bell of my YM has a very sharp bend at the lower side of the bell throat. My sense of math can see no coherent formula being able to describe that bend.
Even if I like my YM very much, I would be interested in comments of any general/inherent problems of sound and intonation encountered in recording bell tubas as opposed to straight bells tubas and to sousaphones.
When I got my YM I thought of it as a large dark and foundation providing instrument. I wanted an instrument more rich in transients at the attack and a little lighter in playing character.
So I bought a Conn 40K 4 valve sousa. My initial expectations were badly disappointed.
Despite the sousa having a valve bore of .732 as opposed to the .750 of the YM, the sousa is a far darker and more foundation rich instrument. Probably not as fat as the Monster of Kevin’s. But so large, dark and resonant, that I never tried anything the like unless from my Yamaha 641 euph and my Besson 981 Eb.
So I have ended up with the YM being my small and elegant BBb in relation to the 40K. So I am understanding the claim of a recent thread, that the large sousas were the true inspirations of the BAT style instruments.
A question to end this post:
Do any of you know whether the modern 20K sousas are made from the same heavy gauge brass as the 40K’s were?
My maybe wrong understanding of former threads is that the 40K and the 20K do have the same progressions of bore.
Klaus