Posted by Ben M. on August 28, 2001 at 11:54:10:
In Reply to: Re: Yamaha YFB822 posted by Scott on August 27, 2001 at 21:37:03:
I disagree with this idea of what a "true" F tuba is. I, along with so many others, believe that we should all be musicians first and tubists second. A true musician will look for the best instrument to display his or her art. Typically German F tubas serious limit the artistic intentions of a tubist when a portion of its range is simply unplayable. Yes, I've heard very experienced tubists play "okay" in that register, but who ever wants to sound just "okay." I've even heard and played B & S horns that don't seem to be as problematic there as others. Still, why play a horn with any prominent problems? If the repertoire were to always avoided those notes (given in a prior post), great, but it doesn't.
Eb tubas also seem to fit the low brass musician's needs extremely well. Had I to do it over again, I would have simply sat down and learned those darn Eb fingerings! Pat Sheridan's type of horn is awesome. Never had to move a slide! But it does sound like a smaller CC horn. And what you may be buying an F for is a color change from your larger CC horn (also a reason NOT to buy the large sounding, quasi-dead Willson F). Now, granted, the timbral color of a typically German F Tuba is a beautiful thing, but a musician simply can't be limited artistically by not being able to have that beautiful German F tone color (or any color at all) in the tricky range of that instrument.
The large Yamaha F (822), in my opinion is the finest instrument in terms of color AND playability for MUSICIANS looking to play in the "bass" tuba range. Some TUBISTS may disagree.