Posted by Rick Denney on October 03, 2002 at 09:12:04:
In Reply to: Re: Old F Tubas vs. New F Tubas posted by Lee Stofer on October 03, 2002 at 08:40:13:
Having had a few minutes with a Boosey and Hawkes F tuba similar to the one used by Catelinet in the premiere of the Vaughan Williams, I can say that the modern instrument that most closely resembles its response is the Yamaha 621, but with a much fuller sound, because the Yamaha not only tolerates the deep funnel mouthpiece, but excels with it. When paired with the shallow, bowl-shaped mouthpiece, the 621 is a lot like the old Besson.
There is no surprise in this. The taper design of the Yamaha is much more old-Besson-like than any other tuba I can think of, with relatively small outer branches and a very fast flare to a small bell with a large throat. It looks like the old Eb's, before the wide bell was introduced. The difference is in the bore and in the openness through the uncompensated valves, which is much larger on the Yamaha, and I think that's what allows is to excel with the big mouthpiece. For someone being backed up by a 1950's British orchestra, the 621 might be the perfect Vaughan Williams tuba.
My own primary application for F tubas is for ensemble work, given that I'm not likely to have an opportunity to play the high orchestral literature. I used it in the TubaMeisters, and I use it now in quintet. I like the little horn in the quintet, because it blends beautifully and remains clear, but still can bark with the trumpets and trombone when necessary. My old Musica (Cerveny) F tuba would not work well enough in the low register to play a wide range of quintet literature, which was written for C. So, I play an F for the wrong reason: Playability. It's so much easier to steer than the big horn that I end up sounding a lot better and making fewer mistakes. Were I better player, I'd perhaps use a contrabass. For that reason, the notion of a bigger F with the darker timbre does have some appeal.
Rick "currently playing the Hungarian March--in band arrangement down a ninth--on BBb (sigh)" Denney