Posted by Lew on March 07, 2001 at 08:26:35:
In Reply to: Testing and evaluating horns posted by TubaJohn on March 06, 2001 at 20:48:13:
Matt suggested to me to play a half note scale to check for response. By forcing you to play a separate attack on each note you can tell how each note speaks for you. I have found some tubas where certain notes just don't come out right on initial attack. Yes, some of that is how effective your buzz is, but assuming that you are playing consistently this can tell you differences in response. Also play chromatically the entire range so that you can tell how every note plays for you. I would also suggest playing with a tuner. Although each tuba can take some adjusting for intonation quirks, anything that may need adjusting to can often be identified on first playing.
To check for sound quality I suggest that you bring a friend, or at least a tape recorder. What you hear when playing isn't what everyone else hears. Someone who's opinion you trust can give you a better reference about the sound of a particular horn vs. another.