Posted by Rick Denney on June 03, 2002 at 23:00:48:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: BBb piston tubas at ITEC posted by Doug on June 03, 2002 at 21:46:24:
I agree. A great player sounds great on any horn, but he will sound better on a great horn. A mediocre player will sound mediocre on any horn, but he will sound better on a great horn. Some instruments fit some sound concepts, others fit different sound concepts. Some players find their magic early on, others search their whole lifetimes for the magic. I'm not sure there's that much correlation between musical ability and how quickly that magic occurs. Joe S. is a truly wonderful player--don't kid yourself into thinking otherwise--but he is still searching for that perfect contrabass. Warren Deck searched and searched, trying many things before settling (?) on a Nirschl. Jacobs found THE horn for him as a student. I'm a rank amateur who likes to try new things from time to time in hopes of finding instruments that cover my weaknesses. Jacobs called tubas a hunk of brass, but he also called his York a Stradivarius of Tubas.
I great player can overcome the weakness of a horn with problems, but he will eat up headroom to do so. What he has left is still more than I can imagine, but it limits his potential.
Rick "who thinks the equipment is a factor in a multiplicative equation" Denney