Posted by Barry Guerrero on March 04, 2004 at 02:30:28:
In Reply to: Gronitz Eb? posted by Gronitz Eb on March 03, 2004 at 22:58:18:
My 983 plays better in-tune than the Gronitz Eb that I tried at Lowbrasswerks did. That doesn't mean that you should rule out the Gronitz, as it had a lot going for it. It has a very strong low register. I liked it that the 5th valve was tuned down an augmented 4th, so that it sounded the low A-natural. That made the low end fingerings much easier than on the Willson (a total horror show for me). I also liked it that was easy to manipulate the second valve slide on the far side of the horn (left hand, obviously). My main complaint with the Gronitz is that it has a low, squat, pancake bell. I'm not a fan of that type of bell, and so I'm not a big fan of the Getzens for that reason too. To me, the Gronitz was a tad bright and "shouty" in sound quality. Then again, the room I played it in didn't have a particularly high ceiling, as I recall. However, using a proper Eb/F m.p. does tame that a problem a bit. Because I can only afford one horn right now, I always audition Eb's with big m.p.'s too. The 983 holds together surprisingly well with big m.p.'s. But if you're going to use an Eb as your one and only ax, the Gronitz might be the better candidate due to its fat low end. Just expect to use a few alternate fingerings, and to pull one or two slides is all. Contact Tony Clements at Lowbrasswerks if you have further questions. I think he still has one, I'm not sure.
Barry Guerrero