Posted by Barry Guerrero on October 20, 2001 at 04:00:16:
In Reply to: OK, I did it - update posted by js on October 18, 2001 at 23:50:59:
JS,
I can only comment by my own experiences. Since I do nearly ALL of my playing on one tuba (B&H Eb), I use a huge range of m.p. sizes to fill the bill. When I first received my CH H-4, I noticed that it was quite similar in size to a Bach 7 that I own. Putting in on my face pretty much confirmed that. However, when I first "buzzed" the CH H-4, I noticed a huge difference right off the bat. That difference was FAR greater than the the kind of differences I've experienced before in comparing m.p.'s of fairly similar sizes. For me, it was almost like learning how to ride a bicycle all over. I found it far more difficult to just "buzz" the CH (heavy weight) m.p. Having just used that CH H-4 for three days of Oktoberfesting on horns that I'm very familiar with, I'm convinced that there IS something different going on with these type of m.p.'s. I noticed that I needed to make far less slide and lip adjustments than normal, probably due to less *shrinkage* of the octaves. I also noticed that all of the notes felt and sounded much more alike. To me, it really seemed to help me out more in the "cash register" - all of the notes sandwiched between the very high range, and the very lowest range. 2 & 3 fingerings, and 2 & 4 fingerings didn't feel so terribly different from open notes, or just 2nd valve fingerings. In other words, I pretty much experienced all of the things that people often times say about *heavy weight* m.p.'s, or even about those *Monster Weight* valve caps. Again, I believe that the differences I experienced were far greater than just the subtle differences in m.p. sizing. I've had plenty of experience in the comparing m.p.'s game.
All of that said, I'm not trying to persuade anybody to my point of view. I'm just reporting what I experienced first hand.
Barry Guerrero