Re: thoughts on a 56J?


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Posted by Steve Dedman on February 28, 2002 at 19:20:32:

In Reply to: thoughts on a 56J? posted by KT on February 28, 2002 at 15:45:27:

I purchased a 56j at the beginning of the year, and have been loving it. It can provide a huge sound when needed, and can also play as lightly as you need. It's a very responsive horn, and the notes just seem to fall out of it. It's MUCH less work to get a good sound than my piggy was. Since I'm not putting so much energy into producing a good sound, I can re-direct that energy into making good music. The valves aren't spectacular, but they're adequate. With the Helleberg it ships with, the intonation is spot-on throughout the horn. You could use it for solo, BQ, or large ensemble. It is truly an all-around horn. I thought it had a much bigger, darker sound than the Miraphone 188 I played next to it at Brook Mays

I have received numerous comments on my sound since buying the horn, and that didn't happen nearly as often with the piggy. Let's face it: when the sax players and percussionists notice enough of a difference to comment, the difference must be obvious.

I selected the 56j from a group of horns that included a MW2000, a Mir-188, a 52j, and a VMI 4098, among others. So I chose it on the merits of how it compared FOR ME against other horns of roughly the same size (except the big VMI). This isn't a flash-in-the-pan, flavor-of-the-week type horn. I believe that the reputation of these relatively new model tubas will continue to grow, and will start to rival some of the European makers in terms of popularity. And you can't beat the price.

My opinion...

SD


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