Re: Re: What does 'bore' mean?


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Posted by Joseph Felton on January 13, 1999 at 06:27:25:

In Reply to: Re: What does 'bore' mean? posted by Ed Vinson on January 12, 1999 at 11:10:03:

To put this another way.. bore size is generally considered to have an affect on the timbre of the instrument. So does the taper of the instrument, kind of brass, mouthpiece, kind of laquer vs silver vs nickel vs gold vs raw brass, piston vs rotary valves, thickness of brass of instrument, type of belt and amount of duct tape on tuning slides and *thousands of other variables even instrument makers are unaware of. To quote the wisdom of Sean Chisham: Instrument design is a black art.
Generally, most professional level tubas have atleast a .750 bore. But there are notable exceptions to this.. an example would be the Getzen 50. To answer your question more directly: A smaller bore is generally more efficient.. what you put into it is what you get. A larger bore tends to give you a broader darker sound quality. Fortunately for us.. there is no *one* concept of an ideal sound and every single instrument on the market has a match for someone. Most manufacturers consult professionals in their instrument design and you can rest assured that somewhere out there someone likes what you consider to be trash. The key is to play lots of instruments and buy what *you* like.
An important concept, to me atleast, is the concept of balance and moderation in life in general and music specifically.. If bigger/smaller was always better instrument manufacturers could easily build larger/smaller horns.
good luck!
joseph


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