Posted by Klaus on October 02, 2002 at 01:21:16:
In Reply to: Old F Tubas vs. New F Tubas posted by Non-Physicist on October 01, 2002 at 21:09:29:
Last summer had a thread on : "Which F Tuba is MOST German?"
There might be a few interesting points there.
Also on the topic touched within the last few hours in a private correspondence of mine. It was initiated by a fellow contributor to this board, who wanted to know about the changes in the leadpipe bore of the PT 10/11's towards the PT 15. Sean wrote on that point in last summer's thread.
I only have tried an old PT-11 equivalent sporadically. I found it too lean in the low range, but all notes spoke well. And the reason for the tests being sporadical was, that the owner did not like, that I could get a fuller sound out of his horn, than he could on his small and shallow PT.
At a concert band rehearsal, I offered that player to try out my Denis Wick 1L, that I had abandoned in favour of the larger PT-50 (both had their backbores opened up by me).
The old "PT-11" expanded in sound. Overall intonation and blend improved. The player went happy. He swapped his "abandoned" K&M tuba stand for my DW1L. And then I went happy.
Until the history developed a few months later: that "PT-11" player met with his former teacher. Who is of the type, who demands, that his students play with exactly the instrumental set-up, that he prescribes regarding each slide being pulled, each their own, fixed number of millimetres and regarding the choice of mouthpiece.
That teacher did not like to experience, that a DW mpc with an expanded backbore improved the playing results over his set-up. He pointed out, that one note, the in band contexts marginally used low multi-finger G, was a shade better in tune with the use of the small PT-"something a bit over 50". So he demanded, that his FORMER student returned to the use of that PT.
As a teacher myself, I hardly can accept that attitude. A teacher, in all legal trades at least, shall strive to optimise the performance of any of his students on the respective resource strengths of each student. And he shall not strive to have them use the equipment delivered by the dealership, that gives the teacher the most profitable kick-back. (And I know, that one prominent dealer/teacher/performer writing on this board shares these points with me).
There might be low range problems with older type F tubas, but it might be significant, that there are more complaints from the US, than from the other side of the pond, where these instruments are the main tools of many, if not most, pro orchestral tubists.
Some US tuba players used to get a radiating bright sound out of huge American type CC's simply might overload their German type F's, on which they may not use much percentage of their practising time anyway. I don't remember Sean, Joe S, and other pros on this board complain that much about the low range of their F tubas.
I loved to meet the quotation from a great master: "A wide warm stream of air" (or hopefully at least something to that effect), when I started reading this board.
The picture I used, aside from some specific vocal exercises, when I taught brass was this one:
A fire hose and a small, quiet well/spring/source may both carry the same amount of water per time unit. So I asked my students, choir singers, and ensemble members: Where would you rather stand? Right in front of the nozzle of a fire hose? Or in the middle of the small, quiet well/spring/source?
The picture I wanted them to get was, that the first option can be overthrowing, maybe even lethal. Whereas the second option more likely will bring you in harmony with your inner juices.
And as I read the real pros of this board, a vital part of their art is that they can make the well/spring/source move more air without ever making its air sprout through any sort of destructive nozzle.
Of course this long post clearly reveals flaws in the precision of my expression abilities. And of course it will provoke some poor person to rob even more of his already bereft dignity. Yet I wrote these lines.
Klaus