Danube

[BlueRidgeTeacher]

I posted last week about looking for a Wessex Tubby. Thank you to those who offered their opinions of the instrument. Still looking for one. But does anyone have recent experience with the Danube? The short action rotars intrigue me. How is the intonation? Does it have a nice low end? I know it’s labeled as “an Eb that sounds like an F”.

Thanks!

[gocsick]

No experience with the Danube... but if you are looking at Wessex Ebs you should try the Gnagey. I really like how it played but found it kind of uncomfortable to hold... it might with better for you.

[MikeS]

If you are looking for a Wessex Eflat tuba that has a”classic F tuba sound,” you might want to check out the Bombino. The two I have played both had very accessible low ends and really sang up high. I do tend to be biased toward Eflats with 15” bells.

[LeMark]

The danube is a lot closer to the Star light than the Norwegian star, which is the standard for Rotor Eb tubas. They tried putting a larger bell on a starlight valve section, and it screwed up the intonation. I thought it had a very thin tone, so I guess they are trying to cover that by saying "sounds like an F tuba"

I just dont think think an Eb that sounds like an F is good marketing at all. People who play Eb want them to sound like a small CC.

[Kevbach33]

If you are looking for a Wessex Eflat tuba that has a”classic F tuba sound,” you might want to check out the Bombino. The two I have played both had very accessible low ends and really sang up high. I do tend to be biased toward Eflats with 15” bells.

+1, though I liken it to a "bass euphonium."

I'm still fiddling with mouthpiece choice, which is critical with this small Eb (it's about the size of an H.N. White "medium" bass). A PT-84 has a comfy rim and gives a great sound with more bass at the expense of upper register intonation. A Yamaha 67B had better intonation, but I didn't really like the tone I got (also didn't care for the rim). A Kelly 25 gives a good balance of tone and intonation, but I'm not crazy about the Bach style rim. Here's hoping a Wick 4L will help solve it all...

I was almost tempted to grab a Marcinkiewicz contrabass trombone mouthpiece at one point, which could be a good, if rare, choice given how small the Bombino really is.

[MikeS]

If you are looking for a Wessex Eflat tuba that has a”classic F tuba sound,” you might want to check out the Bombino. The two I have played both had very accessible low ends and really sang up high. I do tend to be biased toward Eflats with 15” bells.

+1, though I liken it to a "bass euphonium."

I'm still fiddling with mouthpiece choice, which is critical with this small Eb (it's about the size of an H.N. White "medium" bass). A PT-84 has a comfy rim and gives a great sound with more bass at the expense of upper register intonation. A Yamaha 67B had better intonation, but I didn't really like the tone I got (also didn't care for the rim). A Kelly 25 gives a good balance of tone and intonation, but I'm not crazy about the Bach style rim. Here's hoping a Wick 4L will help solve it all...

I was almost tempted to grab a Marcinkiewicz contrabass trombone mouthpiece at one point, which could be a good, if rare, choice given how small the Bombino really is.

I thought my Blokepiece Solo worked well on the Bombino. YMMV