Posted by Joseph Felton on June 14, 2000 at 00:37:41:
Well, It has finally happened. I'm going to break down and purchase my very own F tuba. :)
I've rummaged the archives and have plenty of opinions of my own. Ultimately, I will purchase only that which I like but in the mean time I would like to garner a little additional fodder to fuel my festering imagination.
Price, while important isn't my main criteria, from personal experience I've narrowed my pickings down to the PT-10/15, MW45S(rotory), and MW182. I've played the first three and liked them all but never back to back.. so I have no real grounds for comparison. The idea of a smaller lighter sounding F tuba intrigues me so I include the 182 for discussion. The 182 never really seems to come up in these discussions, why is that?
What I'm looking for in an F tuba:
Well, I love my PT-6 and really want something that will compliment it nicely. i.e. I would like something with a similar blow and response to it that is sonically complimentary. Nothing is more anoying than switching rapidly between a small stuffy dead horn with lack luster intonation and a large open resonant responsive horn with great intonation. I'm not one to play by feel but I'm dealing with this situation right now and it is about to drive me mad.
An ideal horn would readily resonate when fed properly and have a complex colorful sound to it that has depth... like a fine wine. Sound is definately the main criteria here. Response is important in that I want something that will accept a similar approach to what I've developed for my PT-6 and of coarse response should be consistent.. but I'm not at all concerned with the supposedly stuffy lower register of one model over another. I've not met an F tuba yet that I felt had a bad low register(that's the part of me speaking that says I can do anything even when I clearly can't) actually I think that most F tubas have easier lower registers than the big horns.
Any and all thoughts very welcome.. especially if you have long term experience with a specific horn. I have a great deal of confidence in my ability to pass an initial judgement(even when it's a flawed judgement ;b) of a horn but there are often things that aren't as obvious until you've lived in it a little.
Thanks for taking the time to read my rambliing diatribe and even more thanks in advance for and all thoughts and opinions.
joseph