Euphonium to Tuba


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Posted by K on March 22, 2004 at 04:47:35:

The counterfeit version of the TubeNet has a question about moving from euph to tuba. I prefer to reply on the legit version of the TubeNet:

Coming from bassbone/euph I only had used my Conn 26K Eb sousaphone for high range fun playing. I wanted to get a real tuba in the sense of a full 4-5-6 octaves range (depending of level of practising) like on the euph. Being familiar with the 5RV and 6RV B&S F tuba and having done a bit of spreadsheet work there was no alternatives left but the 4 valve compensating Eb tuba. The Besson 982 had excluded itself due to its well known ugly sound, so I went for a test of the Yamaha 63X plus the Besson 981 and 983.

The Yamaha was a rattle-o-phone above mp. Out!

The Besson 983 was great, but didn't allow for the expansivity in sound, which I looked/listened for. Out!

The Besson 981 was a bit harder to come by for a test. Immediate mutual love!

Range, intonation, dynamic range, response, and all were hitting my heart like an arrow of Cupid's. Basically the 981 behaved like a larger sibling of my belowed YEP641 euph. The 5th partial and its derivatives need a bit more attention and are more prone to call for alternative fingerings, but the semitones right above the open fundamental are easier to get right than on the euph, where I have found it necessary to install a main tuning slide trigger to get these notes right (I practise scales in that range).

The main fault of the Besson 981 really is one of mine: I could/can not make it sound like a true contrabass like the phenomenal British symph tubaists can.

So I wanted to take the BBb route. No BBb compensator was open enough for me, so I ended up with two 4P BBb's. Both extremely playable after the intermezzo with the 981, which btw. still is with me.

Klaus


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