Posted by Lee Stofer on November 15, 2003 at 16:28:47:
In Reply to: RUDYS?......LEE STOFER? posted by :) on November 14, 2003 at 08:49:56:
The Rudolf Meinl Company is located in Diespeck/Aisch, a suburb of Neustadt/Aisch. Whenever there are two or more cities of the same name in Germany, they additionally identify the city by geography (this particular Neustadt being on the Aisch river). This is in Bavaria, between Wurzburg and Nurenburg.
Rudolf Meinl Sr., Rudi Jr., and about half-a dozen employees work in a small-but-adequate factory building, practicing the same sort of craftsmanship that their family has been doing for generations. They, like the majority of brass instrument craftsmen in Germany, trace their instrument-making roots back to Graslitz (Kraslice), in what was once known as Bohemia and is now in the Czech Republic. The family name Meinl was very common in the Czech Republic, so these Meinls and the family of Gerhard Meinl of Melton, known in the US as Meinl-Weston, are not close relatives.
Essentially, the Rudolf Meinl family lives in a mostly-rural area, building instruments the old-fashioned way, but using modern design technology to achieve the best of both worlds. Their goal is quality, and they do not seem interested in American-style mass-marketing of their instruments. At one time, they had an exclusive North American distributor, and a number of their instruments were sold. However, they came to sharp disagreement as to the pricing of the instruments, and Rudolf Meinl ended that relationship, concerned about customers being charged too much. That was in the mid' 1980's, and they have not had much representation in the US since that time. Amongst professional players, their instruments have always been well-regarded, and their instruments are perhaps better-known in many other countries of the world than in the US. Americans flock to what is advertised, and want to go to a place, play-test 80 different horns, and maybe take one home at the end of the day. The major suppliers stay in business by buying large quantities of popular instruments to keep their cost down, and don't necessarily push Rudolf Meinl tubas because they are expensive, don't have the advertising hype to push them as luxury tubas, and sellers make can make equal or better profit margin on a lesser instrument.
The sound quality of a Rudolf Meinl tuba comes from a number of things. Their instruments typically are larger overall than other instruments of the same designation from other manufacturers, ie., 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, etc. Plus, they have traditionally engineereed their instruments with a larger bore through the leadpipe and rotors, ensuring a free-blowing instrument that delivers a strong, dark, well-centered tone.
Rudolf Meinl and Rudi Jr. have major professional tubists visiting their shop frequently, so they get lots of imput from these players from a number of countries in the development of their instruments.
Rudolf Meinl has no paid endorsers or clinician/performers. In fact, there are some people that do that for other companies, but play Rudolf Meinl tubas in their orchestra gigs. Rudolf Meinl tubas are not for everyone, and not everyone will appreciate the difference between their instruments and others, but I'm sure glad that they make their instruments. If all goes well, I will soon take delivery of an instrument that I've admired for some time, a rose-brass 5/4 Rudolf Meinl CC tuba. Like Saab automobiles, you don't see many of them for sale, for once people buy them, they tend to keep them ;^)
Lee Stofer