Posted by Jay Bertolet on December 08, 1999 at 14:05:51:
In Reply to: Cerveny Recomendations posted by Donovan Suko on December 08, 1999 at 07:01:55:
I myself own a Cervany 601 and it is a wonderful tuba! However, for me it has VERY specific applications and brass quintet isn't one of them. Now, everybody has their own ideas about how to sound in just about any ensemble and I know (because this subject has come up before) that there are folks using 601's as all purpose horns. But for me, I feel the 601 is just way too big for smaller ensemble playing. I really love my 601 for big orchestral works like Mahler, Wagner, Prokofiev, etc. But for me, the 601 is a specialty horn and I use it only when appropriate. I would never use it in a quintet because somebody might get hurt! I know the catalogs describe this tuba as a 5/4 but it is every bit as big as a Yorkbrunner, MW2165, or any other 6/4 tuba I know of.
My advice to you is to look for a good 4/4 tuba if this purchase is going to be your all around horn. I myself use a Rudy Meinl 4/4 RM-10 and I couldn't be happier with it. Good luck!