Posted by Klaus on November 22, 2001 at 21:22:53:
In Reply to: Bohn & Meinl Sousaphone - Any Info? posted by Steve Kinsel on November 21, 2001 at 22:16:16:
Thanks to Lew for the link!
About the instrument: I liked what I saw! And the price seems to be reasonable.
Compared to the NY made, yet Italian named, BBb sousas with very narrow bores, that have been up for auction, this one looks much better proportioned. Especially do I like the profile of the bell flare. The expansion is fast, but not too fast.
Böhm & Meinl was the factory, that made the York Master tubas in the decades after WWII. The tooling, at least parts of it, now is owned by Walter Nirsch, who makes a very acclaimed copy of one of original Chicago Yorks.
I would be interested to read about the bore of this sousaphone. Are otyh branches of the main tuning slide of the same bore? And about how it reacts in the dynamic extremes: Dulness in pp? Brassiness, ringing, afterglow in ff? Does it feel stuffy? How is the intonation? How does it react to lipping up or down?
To me the the compact impression somehow translates to less space within the main circle, but that hardly can be true. Is it easy to enter?
What is the bell diameter?
Yes, I am really interested in this instrument, that is so differently proportioned from my own Conns. And still does not look like a mere toy.
Klaus