Posted by Rick Denney on July 02, 2002 at 13:43:22:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: German and American "sound" posted by Chuck(G) on July 02, 2002 at 13:22:36:
Boy, if you think the YM is distant, you should try the big BBb Willson. That one sounds and feels like it's in the next county. But there are mighty good sounds in that county, heh, heh.
The intonation issues are still there, but were mitigated to manageable levels by reaming the proper taper in the receiver and by mouthpiece selection. It's still a little sharp in the 8th partial, but I rarely play in that register using this tuba. A mouthpiece with a large throat really helps in being able to steer the instrument, and that was not possible with the old, small receiver opening. But a larger throat than what I am using made the intonation worse, although that could have been because the steering was too easy and I couldn't control it.
The horn is a bit stiff, to use a British description. It slots tightly. The Conn 20J will bend all over the place with comparitive ease, though it's intonation issues are worse than the YM by a healthy margin. In that stiffness, the YM is like the Miraphone.
But the sound that comes back to me from a reverberant hall is dramatically fuller and richer than the sound that reflects back from the Miraphone or any other rotary tuba I've compared it to (which includes a VMI and a B&S). To paraphrase Matt Walters, it's German, true enough, but it still has many of those classically American heirloom qualities.
You didn't get a chance to play it with such an open mouthpiece--it really is warmer and it gives you more feedback. The Wick 1 that you had to use because that's all that fit doesn't produce the same results.
The only good Grand Rapids Yorks I've played have been 6/4 conversions. They were marvelous, and they deserve their reputation. If they sound out front the way they feel, I can understand the mystique. My YM is not intended to be the same sort of tuba, and it isn't, nor do I represent it as such. (I have played a 4/4 GR York that I didn't like as well as mine, but the horn was old and may have needed repair).
Rick "who thinks you'd have to search pretty hard for a better BBb tuba" Denney