Posted by Jay Bertolet on February 09, 2001 at 08:21:37:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: 5th valve options & benefits? posted by Joe S. on February 09, 2001 at 00:11:11:
Well said, viva la difference indeed.
I'm curious to hear your opinion about the F tuba design. Do you think it has inherent intonation flaws? I mean, more so than other keyed tubas. I understand and have heard what you describe regarding the intonation difficulties of certain F tubas. Most of the owners of those tubas said to me that 6 valves were really necessary for proper intonation. But I can't help wondering why we don't see that same phenomenon in other tubas. Your point about the near pedal range of CC and BBb tubas is well taken. But it still doesn't explain why there are no Eb tubas with 6 valves (at least none that I know of) and why we don't hear those same intonation deficiencies in the similar range on an Eb tuba. I just received my new copy of the 2nd edition of the Bevan book and am reading the opening section on the characteristics of open bugles and their conical expansion rates. Very interesting stuff! Admittedly, I'm pretty new at this so I'd be curious to hear your opinions about the relative merits of the F tuba design regarding sound versus intonation. I personally haven't played enough of the newer (and larger) F tubas to know if they act more like Eb tubas intonation-wise. I would suspect that might be the case because of the similarities in the designs. Just as there are Eb tubas designed very similarly to F tubas (like the Cervany 641) which also perform very similarly to F tubas (same intonation and range problems). If you don't want to post publicly, feel free to email me privately.
My opinion for what it's worth...