Tuba safari [long]


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Posted by Steve Inman on February 06, 2001 at 08:18:06:

[Dual postings: tubaeuph / TubeNet BBS]

Yesterday was spent driving to the Yamaha offices and warehouse in Michigan, and then to the Woodwind and Brasswind on the way back home. Unfortunately, I spent quite a bit more time driving than playing tubas, but the tuba tootin' was fun.

Tubas played: Courtesy of the helpful folks at Yamaha - YFB-621, which I did side-by-side comparrisons with my Besson 983 Eb and YEB-381 Eb tubas.
At Brasswind: YFB-822, Miraphone 181-6U F, Rudy Meinl 5/4 5V F, Willson 3200(?)F, Meinl Weston 45SLP F, Meinl Weston 45S F(rotary), and maybe one or two other Fs. Also, MW-37 "Bill Bell" CC, Rudy Meinl 3/4 CC, Rudy Meinl Piston 4/4 CC, Miraphone 186 CC, MW 2145CC

My impressions, for what they're worth:

1. The YFB-621 is an amazing 3/4 F tuba. Its upper register was just as easy to play as the Besson 983 - perhaps easier. It's low register was very strong with no weak notes whatsoever. The voice is more focused, but smaller in character than the Besson 983. However, I felt I could produce more volume on the Yamaha. I don't think the 621 would provide a strong, broad foundation for quartet or quintet, but it should be useable in either if a lighter, focused sound is what you're wanting.

2. Tony Clements was correct in his report that the YEB-381 is a significantly larger sounding horn than the YFB-621. I was skeptical regarding his report (sorry, Tony), as the two horns' bells are close to the same size. However, the 3/4 F's bell's smaller dimension continues to be scaled proportionally smaller throughout the entire set of main branches. The bell throat, bottom bow, etc, are visibly smaller than the YEB-381. Indeed there is a more compact, focused (think euph on steriods, with an unending lower register) sound with the 621, while the 381 Eb has a broader, darker voice.

3. Fs I liked: YFB-621, YFB-822, Willson. That's it. These tubas had a fuller, darker sound (and different) from the other "German" Fs. These are also the horns that didn't have a weak low C, low BBb. IMO if it's called a tuba, it shouldn't have any weak notes in the low register. Compact, smaller sound (621F) is expected in a small tuba, but not weak notes. Others claim you can get used to these notes and achieve good results. But why should I have to adapt my playing style to the horn? I've worked quite a bit with the Besson 983 and still am not comfortable with the compensating low register. After playing the 621, I'm asking myself why am I satisfied with the Besson? PLEASE NOTE: I'm expecting a tuba to work with quartet and quintet playing, as the solo bass voice. IF THE TUBA'S ROLE IS DIFFERENT, then any of the other F tubas performed wonderfully everywhere above the two-ledger-line C. So on to #4.

4. Fs I didn't like (for my needs): All the others. But as mentioned above, anywhere above the low C, they were all tremendous players. They each had a unique voice, with the 45SLP and 5/4 Rudy being a little darker (this is from memory) than the others. The Miraphone was also quite nice, and the 6 valves provide for more alternate fingerings than I'd like to try to keep track of. I would rank these three mentioned here as all fine F tubas, if you're not expecting a strong response around low C.

5. CCs: As you may have observed from prior postings, I'm hunting for a tuba that will work well in primarily quartet and quintet playing, but with some larger ensemble playing. As Mike Russo pointed out, the "holy grail" "one-tuba-does-all" instrument has yet to be built. What I observed by taping our quartet practice Sunday is that the Besson 983 certainly isn't covering up any other parts, and hence I could move to a larger Eb in order to solve my need for a better low end for larger ensemble playing. To this end, I'm leaning towards the Willson Eb (a great horn with a big voice - easily equal to the 3/4 Rudy Meinl CC IMO, but with stiff valve springs that made my hand tired rather quickly), or the 5/4 Rudy Meinl Eb for perhaps the best single tuba for my needs. However, I really liked both the 3/4 Rudy CC and the Miraphone 186 for playing in quintet, pit orchestra, community concert band, etc. The Rudy was very similar to the Besson 983 in the upper register, but darker in the middle register and with a much stronger low register. It would make a great quintet horn, and should work well in a pit orchestra as well. The Miraphone 186 was the "next step" larger, with a stronger, deeper voice all around. Yet its voice is still more focused (not as broad and expansive) as with the MW 2145, which was quite impressive for a compact CC horn.

6. "What will you do, what will you do?!?" I now know why the YFB-621 owners are in love with these instruments. If I wanted a small, lighter sound for quartet and smaller groups, I'd buy one. But I'd have to also buy the 3/4 Rudy or the Miraphone 186 for quintet and larger groups. The YFB-621 could work in a quintet if filling the role of bass trombone, or cimbasso, yet with a broader voice. This would be nice for lighter works.

The one-tuba-fits-all horn (for my situation) is either a Willson 3400 Eb, the 3/4 Rudy CC, or perhaps the yet-unseen 5/4 Rudy Meinl Eb. The Miraphone 186 CC or similar horn is probably the best, TRUE one-horn-fits-all if you're playing anything from quintet to small community orchestra. Its sound isn't full enough for a large group, if the conductor expects a 5/4 type of sound.

I'm going to wait a few months and see if Lee Stofer, Jr. in Atlanta, GA, succeeds in getting a 5/4 Rudy Eb in from Germany. I can't make a final decision without trying one of these. I'd still like to stick with one tuba if possible, and since I'm playing Eb now, I'd like to avoid new fingerings.

If the 5/4 Rudy isn't the horn, I'll probably buy the Yamaha 621 F, and either the Miraphone 186CC or the 3/4 Rudy CC. The Miraphone would provide a larger contrast between the two instruments.

Finally, if I chicken out with all those new fingerings, I could end up keeping the Besson 983 for its nice upper register, and add a Miraphone 186 CC (or even BBb) for my contrabass tuba.

That's the story from Kokomo, where all the women are strong, the tubists are good looking, and the children are above average.



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