Posted by Scott Norberg on November 09, 2003 at 17:56:10:
In Reply to: Re: If you only had $6500 or so to spend... posted by Tony Clements on November 09, 2003 at 14:54:36:
I've seen you post that before, however I don't remember your explanation why you believe that. When I was an undergrad, I used a Yamaha 661 CC for most of my playing until my school bought a Yamaha 822F. While I liked the sound of my CC better, I felt more comfortable with the F in solos and quintets, which was no surprise. What was a surprise was that my orchestra director liked the F better in the vast majority of situations (keep in mind it was a 75 piece orchestra that performed didn't perform the heavier repertoire) and the F did almost as well as the CC in band.
That brings us to the original situation. What happens if you're on a limited budget? If you're going to be playing everything, why not spend most of your money getting a tuba that would do best in the groups where you will be the most exposed? If you're in a tuba section in a 90-piece band, very few people in the audience will notice that you're playing an F. However people will notice a lack of clarity when playing a solo on a CC rather than an F. Besides, if you want two horns, it's easier trying to find a decent contrabass tuba for a good price (if you're willing to "settle" for a BBb that is) than it is to find a decent small tuba after purchasing your big one.
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just trying to figure out why more people don't take this approach. Once I sat down to think about it, I'm honestly puzzled why more people don't use their small tubas as their primary horns. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Scott