Posted by Steve Inman on March 09, 2002 at 14:24:44:
In Reply to: Looking for an F tuba posted by Michael on March 07, 2002 at 19:41:06:
Scott's comments are worth re-reading. For some general info:
One of our German posters recently described the difference in tuba philosophy between the US and Germany (just two examples of differences) quite well. It seems that in Germany the tubist is an extension of the trombone section. Hence, (s)he will usually choose an F tuba, even for many orchestral works, as it blends better with the 'bones. The bass voice in this orchestra is the bass viol section. In the US, typically the tuba helps the bass viol section, and should be big/broad/foundational. Hence a 7/4 CC is the type of tuba most oft ed after.
In your case (US music school), you probably "need" a 4/4 or 5/4 CC and some kind of F. For you F, you could choose:
small: Yamaha YFB-621, MW 182, Cerveny YFB-654-6 These horns have a tight, modest sound (by comparison) and are good for solos, small ensembles, "pretending" to be a euph, etc. They may work in a quintet, but won't provide a strong foundational bass voice for this size group (most likely -- depends a lot on YOU, of course).
medium: lots of choices -- maybe typified by the Miraphone 181 -- not too big, not too small. Maybe a PT-10, Rudy Meinl 4/4 F, etc.
large: Yamaha YFB-822 is a good example of a large F tuba, one that has a sound character more like a 3/4 or small 4/4 CC. I assume the MW 45SLP might fit into this space, and the Willson F perhaps.
I've got the small Yamaha, because I have a specific need for a small-sounding tuba. One group I play in is a quartet and I want to blend well with the group. Most of our quartet music is arranged 202.00, so I have to blend with the 1st bone (i.e. sound rather like a euph), especially when playing harmony with the 1st bone instead of a true bass passage. Since I'm also playing the 2nd bone part as written wherever possible (i.e. higher notes), the YFB-621 is a good choice for obtaining a decent sound in this specific application. HOWEVER, I feel underpowered in my quintet (i.e. I can be heard, but I'm not getting the strong bass voice the trumpets want), and I'm looking forward to figuring out where the notes (fingerings) are hiding on that Miraphone 186-4U CC I've also got.
Regards,
Steve "not a CC player yet" Inman
Kokomo, IN