Posted by Tom Bratten on June 13, 1999 at 22:43:08:
In Reply to: What is the oppinion on CC Willison 5/4 posted by Antonio on June 13, 1999 at 00:37:20:
Let me preface this by saying that I own a Willson F tuba and really love it.
I tried both the Willson CC and a Pt-6 almost back-to-back recently. My impression is that the PT-6 (granted, this is a comparison with only one Willson) was the superior instrument. I played on the Willson for about 5 minutes and knew immediately that this was not a horn I would like to play. I really didn't think the sound allowed for as much individual character that I prefer. By this, I mean that the sound was more determined by the equipment rather than by the player (in a sense monochrome vs. full color).
I think I can explain the reason for this.
The Willson F is built extremely heavy, and I assume that this is to give a stronger fundamental sound to it (ie to simulate a small CC sound - that opens a whole 'nother can of worms which can be discussed at a later time). It felt like this principle was then carried over to the CC. At that point, it felt like overkill. A CC will already sound like a CC, so why make it so heavy? I think that this contributes greatly to my impression of "monochrome". I didn't even take enough time to check intonation, so I cannot comment on that.
Of course, this is just my impression, and we each have our preferences, none of which are less valid than others. If you find a tuba you love, get it!
Hope this helps a little,
Tom