Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: German and American "sound"


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

Posted by Chuck(G) on July 02, 2002 at 13:22:36:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: German and American "sound" posted by Rick Denney on July 02, 2002 at 12:56:01:

I'll chime in here, because I've played and owned Rick's YM.

No--it's not a Grand Rapids York--I've got two (and should soon have a third) and the sound of the Michigan horns from under the bell is substantially different from that of the German horn. The YM is quite heavy; even the small tubes have thicker walls than the "real" Yorks (I've miked them). The sound of the YM is, to my ears, darker and somewhat "distant" as contrasted with the JW Yorks, which to me have a warm and very immediate sound. (By "distant" I mean the vague feeling that someone else is playing the horn).

That being said, it's better than a lot of other big BBb instruments that I've played. The things prompting me to sell it were the "distant" feeling and upper-register intonation issues. Rick seems either not as sensitive or perhaps it's not as important on the first issue and evidently, he's learned to live with the second one.

On the plus side, the YM has a great low end sound.

FWIW, the Marzan CC that I'm trying to sell has precisely the same issues for me that the YM had, so they must be intrinsic to the design, since the Marzan's built on essentially the same body that the YM is. If you don't mind a certain "distant" feeling and you don't have problems dealing with some intonation issues, either is a perfectly good instrument with a unique sound. For me, the distance and intonation issues are the pebble in my shoe; the cockroach in my spaghetti. But obviously not for Rick.

Neither is a real Michigan York, but so what? Rick likes his YM and wants to share his insights; I have no problem with that.



Follow Ups: