Posted by Art on October 04, 2001 at 23:31:06:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Walter E. Sear BBb tubas posted by Graham Smith on October 04, 2001 at 20:23:05:
I used one of Walter's DePrins tubas in BBb from 1964 until around 1980, and I know of several that are still in use. I liked the intonation and response, which was very even. (I did try one in CC that had rather strange intonation problems; I think Walter put more effort into perfecting the BBb version.) It's a small-bore instrument but gets a much bigger sound than the Weril, for example. It's true that the plating on the valves tends to wear off, but they still get the job done. The horn was built like a tank; it really took a beating. Two things that I did not like were the high pitch and the awkward leadpipe angle. I solved both problems by using a sousaphone bit. The nickel plating was very durable; you can clean it up pretty well with fine steel wool. I might still be using that horn today if I had been able to make my own leadpipe.