Posted by .... on September 10, 2001 at 14:58:30:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Your ultimate horn collection posted by Matt G on September 10, 2001 at 09:05:42:
the slides are there so one can have access to them. One does not NEED access to them, but they are there just in case someone would like. The few tubas that Marzan has (that he has had and havent picked up from others.......which havent been modified or worked on) pretty much do have perfect intonation, and rarely does he play with the slides. That is, was, and always will be his main concern with his horns. He built them after the solid copper Saunders tuba he aquired in the 30's (which he considers to be the best horn in the world, even better than his own) blows any note perfectly in tune. He made his tubas to strive for that design but he made them bigger, with more valves, and in different keys. Perhaps the ones that you have played have had some repairs on them, thus disturbing the overtone series.
Marzan also made many different types of tubas. I believe that at least 7 models can be seen in vintage DEG catalogs. They range from big to small and I'm sure one of 'the BBb's is as big as the Wilson (IF you are speaking of tubas). He only made a few models of euphoniums, and they were somewhat small. I know of 2 models of his euphoniums. He began by making a fully compensating Euphonium (which can also be seen in vintage DEG catalogs) but discovered a way to make a Euphonium that can play perfectly in tune without having all the extra slides, which he said prevented good positioning of the fourth valve slide (at the time....maybe not presently....but at the time.)
Don't ask me "well if his design was so great, then why don't they make them today?" for I do not know why? Why can't Bach reproduce the quality of trumpets they made in Mt. Vernon in the 50's with today's trumpets? Why aren't the new Conn 88H's as good as the old ones?
(all women and children may porceed to cover their eyes and/or close this window)
Hell if I know!