Re: Re: rudy 4/4


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 23, 2002 at 16:22:47:

In Reply to: Re: rudy 4/4 posted by Doc on July 23, 2002 at 14:57:29:

Contacting Lee Stofer is an excellent idea! Lee has the best horn I played at the recent ITEC. It is a new Rudy design that combines a 3/4 rotary valve section with a larger, shorter bell and bow section that is fairly similar to the bell and bow section of the Rudy CCC piston horn. This one horn that Lee has was far and away the best instrument I played at the conference and Lee still has the horn for sale.

As far as how Rudy's compare, my opinion has always been that the sound is worth the intonation difficulties, if they are manageable. A few years back, Rudy redesigned the 4/4 CC to try and fix some of the intonation issues. The final product, in my opinion, traded one set of intonation problems for another and sacrificed a little bit of the sound in the process. That's why I advise folks to look for the older Rudy's, from before the modifications. The intonation on the older ones is no harder to work with but the sound and response feel just a bit better to me.

That said, this new Rudy 4/4 played much better in tune than any other Rudy I have tried. Further, it even had better response, which is REALLY surprising for the Rudy 4/4 tubas that already have a really great feel at the mouthpiece. I didn't put the horn on a tuner while I was trying it out but nothing sounded out of whack to me. I almost bought the horn right then and there.

If I were in the market for a new CC tuba, you can bet that the Rudy models would be on my short list. This new model that Lee has may yet end up in my studio.

My opinion for what it's worth...


Follow Ups: