Posted by Aubrey Foard on February 03, 2001 at 22:26:07:
In Reply to: Big Tuba Question posted by Curious on February 03, 2001 at 17:23:27:
A simple list:
Mirafone 188 - not that big of a horn (smallish 5/4), but has a deep, resonant sound that the brass section will feel in their guts
Mirafone 1295 - Very smooth, great big sound without all the Kalison huffing and puffing.
Rudy Meinl 5/4 (mentioned below) - One of the biggest sounding horns out there. Plays extremely well, but requires a ton of effort and a few years of adjustment. Most people don't get this one until they're ready to audition professionally.
Boosey and Hawkes' Walter Nirschl 4/4+ model - Can't say much about this horn, but it did come recommended by many pros at the midwest convention.
I'm writing this assuming that you already have a 4/4 CC that you're well adjusted to. Most people go through their undergrad on a versatile CC (e.g. the 186) and a high quality F and get that big horn in their junior/senior/graduate years in college. i.e. when they start taking the big professional auditions. Reason being that you can't use a big and an F for everything and if you're not fully prepared to start putting air through and playing a big horn, you could seriously mess up your face. But if you're fully prepared to play a big horn now, more power to you.