Re: Re: Re: A question of Bore


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Posted by Lee Stofer on January 06, 2004 at 09:22:54:

In Reply to: Re: Re: A question of Bore posted by Question on January 06, 2004 at 00:15:49:

The smallest CC or BBb tubas that I would feel comfortable playing in a large orchestra would be a 3/4 Rudolf Meinl CC, a Mirafone 185 CC, the old Olds 4-piston 3/4 BBb or the old-style King 2341UB BB tuba (actually a 4/4 instrument). I have found these instruments to be very efficient and responsive, relatively lightweight, and having a large-enough sound to do the job.
I will mention that, although I might not use it in a large orchestra, I was quite impressed when I took the new Josef Lidl CC tuba out for a gig just before Christmas. It is a 3/4 size instrument, most similar in size to the old Olds/Conn 3/4 tubas, with a 17" bell and a bore in the ".740's if I remember correctly.
I got a last-minute call to sub in a brass quintet for a gig the next day. I decided to use the Lidl CC and a Kelly "Kellyberg" mouthpiece, as it seems to be unusually kind to my face. So, with no rehearsal, I take the Lidl, spend some time with a tuner, then go to the gig and just start playing, in the pit of the Atlanta Civic Center auditorium. What a blast! The intonation was good, the sound was better than I could have hoped for, and that little horn seemed to just put out a ton of good sound. I could not have been happier with the results at the gig, and look forward to the next time I get to use it. Although I would like for it to have a 5th valve (I've already been bothering Geneva International corp. about that), I found that I had plenty of good options for fingerings for all of the repertoire we played, even when I occasionally took a note down an octave. The first and third valve slides are within easy reach on the top front of the horn, although I rarely pulled either of them. Maybe I WILL try it out in an orchestral setting!

Lee Stofer


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