Re: Elephant Room Impressions (Add your own in the replies)
Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2024 10:38 pm
Due to time I didn't get to spend time a lot of time with any of the tubas I tooted on.
I did spend some time with the 4197 (pt20p) seeing as I wanted something smaller a little smaller than the Kellyberg or the pt48. I ended up buying the RT44 and the RT82 mouthpieces. I got the 82 partially for collection purposes since I don't really have a good bowl shaped mouthpiece and heard a lot of positive comments in various online posts.
Thank you Chris Hite from Buddy Rogers Music for helping me with my mouthpiece quest! I also need to message good gentleman Mr. Tucci too.
Rudy Meinl 5/4 BBb: Rudy's due indeed run bigger than other makers */4 designations. The notes below Bb below the staff felt, airy? Leaky? Unfocused? But the tuba definitely responded much better with the rt-82. So there does seem to be some correlation with bowls and long lead pipe Germanic tubas. First time I've ever played a Rudy Meinl before, so far positive. I'd wonder how good it could be since Diego mentioned it could use some work.
Wessex 6/4 Rotary tuba ‘Kaiser’ BBb: I think it was the 4 valve version? The TB690. I personally still don't like this tuba or tubas generally in this style. Didn't matter which mouthpice I used. Although I think there was a Hirsbrunner kaiser last year? I liked that one I think. But was never a huge fan of German style tubas to begin with. I'll always be open to try traditional German style tubas to see if they'll grow on me. Still not my cup of tea.
Eastman 632 4/4 CC: It was fine but I'd personally rather have the Eastman 534 BBb or a King 2341 instead.
Eastman 534 4/4 BBb: I personally always like to revisit this or the new style King 2341. I'm always glad to toot on them. I also like King 1241 and the old style King 2341's too.
Eastman EBB562 4/4 4 valve BBb: I think I played this and not the 5/4 one. Good tuba. I already like the original B&S version of it too. Solid tuba. Definitely this or the B&S GR51 should be on anyone's list of 4/4 BBb's to try, assuming they haven't already.
Adams Selected Series 5-Valve 4/4 C: I still so far not sure why I don't like it. Maybe like the kind gentleman (can't recall his name) said it is a little too new? Needs more time to break in? Puzzling. I thought 1 and 3 combination responded better than just the 4th valve alone. Oh, it does mention in their catalog book that it comes with all rotary valves too. I guess that is technically another 4/4 rotary CC (and BBb) option that can probably be ordered easily to the USA. But then again front action pistons are more popular so maybe I won't ever get a chance to try one anyone soon, pity. Plus tubas in general are not cheap, so it's not like I can buy the rotary version if it happens to come and I really end up liking it. Same with the BBb versions too. Or Maybe the Adams is one of those horns that you need to spend a few days with to truly appreciate.
Besson 3+1 compensating F: Fun tuba, has the small shank. The 2 piece Kelly X-Small with the small shank and Denis Wick 2 Heritage responded quite nicely. The 2 piece Kellyberg is probably too big for that size of tuba, technically. I'll share photos on the other thread for how deep the shanks sit out. For future reference. I thought the C below the staff was fine. Everything below the low C was stuffy, not surprising since it is a F and a compensator too.
Wilson 3200 6/4? F: Heavy even for an F. Pretty cool and neat. I haven't really played F tubas before so I can't really judge it. Can be a do it all tuba seeing as 4/4 BBb' and CC's are not as in vogue as 5/4 and bigger tubas are. At least from what I've experienced and read.
Kanstul 3/4 5 valve CC: I think this is the 902-5C CC 3/4 Concert Tuba that is still on the Kanstul website. Unless it wasn't a CC tuba... The main tuning slide seemed like it has length added to both of the sides. Neat tuba does take some time getting used to though. Quirky but interesting as a whole too. I think this the first time I've played 3/4 CC before. Again, neat.
Josef Lidl LBB783-4 3/4 BBb: Nice, has some resistance, even more so with the 4 valve combinations. I think it made the most obvious difference tonally with the rt-82 mouthpiece vs the other mouthpieces. Or since the tuba is short and bell being closer to your head makes the tonal difference more obvious.
Miraphone 494 Hagen 3/4 BBb: I can still attest that this tuba is amazing. I made sure to toot on it for a few seconds to make sure if my opinion has changed. My opinion has not changed and the 3/4 is really good. I'd highly recommend anyone to try it out.
Yamaha YBB-623 5 valve BBb: Wow, I thought this was really good. Especially considering the YBB-321 (it's okay) and the YBB-641 (
). I really wanted to try the CC version when it wasn't being tested by someone at that moment. But when I came back Yamaha was already gone 
. Sooooo I guess I'll just have to hope it's brought back next year or NERTEC if it's there to try one.
B&S 4197 (pt20p) 5 valve 4/4 CC: I did spend time with it trying mouthpieces like I mentioned above. I think the tubas that I have or been using so far makes me not as picky or able to notice certain tubas have some stuffiness in the lower registers at times. Even if this and the rotary 4097 (pt20) are considering mediocre 4/4 CC's, as long as the 4097 I ordered plays at least as well as this tuba did to me, I will be happy. And it should be pretty close to coming now. Exciting!
Wessex Front action 3+1 compensating Eb protype: Cool, obviously nowhere near as stuffy as the Besson F, being an Eb and more modern design. I'm curious how the final version will be like.
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I would have LOVED to try the Wilson Merlin's. Wilson also has a new Eb model too!
And it's different from the compact model that already exists! Wished I got a chance to try it.
I would've like to try the B&S gr-41 (pt606p) and revisit and try the other Buffett-Crampon tubas again too.
Lots and lots of tubas. So many not enough time to try them all
I wanted to play the Wessex 6/4 Eb Tuba ‘Tubby’ - TE665HP or any large American style Eb because I looove the way they sound. And Marks comments about the 4 Valve stuffiness being resolved makes me really, REALLY want to play it again! I love to try the Wessex BBb 6/4 Compensated Tuba ‘Leviathan’ - TB681HP & TB691P tubas. Now that is a true classic right their folks, well technically they didn't come with compensating valves. Something something patent blah blah manufacturing blah blah, but umph they look soooo, soo nice in the pictures.
I also would always try to find the Eastman EBE851 (15" bell) / Eastman EBE853 (17" bell) tubas since I really like they way they play and sound. I wonder how they compare to a Besson 984 since, to me, the Eastman seemes smaller than the Besson 983.
I think there was a Meinl Weston 2155 at the conference I would've loved to try it since it gets mentioned a lot. Technically I'd like to try the 2157 more due to be having even more positive comments than the 2155. But short on time and remembered when I got home.
Still hoping to try the Yamaha 632 3+1 Neo 4/4 BBb. And seeing as their new BBb 623 was quite nice, I wonder how nice this model is too.
I did spend some time with the 4197 (pt20p) seeing as I wanted something smaller a little smaller than the Kellyberg or the pt48. I ended up buying the RT44 and the RT82 mouthpieces. I got the 82 partially for collection purposes since I don't really have a good bowl shaped mouthpiece and heard a lot of positive comments in various online posts.
Thank you Chris Hite from Buddy Rogers Music for helping me with my mouthpiece quest! I also need to message good gentleman Mr. Tucci too.
Rudy Meinl 5/4 BBb: Rudy's due indeed run bigger than other makers */4 designations. The notes below Bb below the staff felt, airy? Leaky? Unfocused? But the tuba definitely responded much better with the rt-82. So there does seem to be some correlation with bowls and long lead pipe Germanic tubas. First time I've ever played a Rudy Meinl before, so far positive. I'd wonder how good it could be since Diego mentioned it could use some work.
Wessex 6/4 Rotary tuba ‘Kaiser’ BBb: I think it was the 4 valve version? The TB690. I personally still don't like this tuba or tubas generally in this style. Didn't matter which mouthpice I used. Although I think there was a Hirsbrunner kaiser last year? I liked that one I think. But was never a huge fan of German style tubas to begin with. I'll always be open to try traditional German style tubas to see if they'll grow on me. Still not my cup of tea.
Eastman 632 4/4 CC: It was fine but I'd personally rather have the Eastman 534 BBb or a King 2341 instead.
Eastman 534 4/4 BBb: I personally always like to revisit this or the new style King 2341. I'm always glad to toot on them. I also like King 1241 and the old style King 2341's too.
Eastman EBB562 4/4 4 valve BBb: I think I played this and not the 5/4 one. Good tuba. I already like the original B&S version of it too. Solid tuba. Definitely this or the B&S GR51 should be on anyone's list of 4/4 BBb's to try, assuming they haven't already.
Adams Selected Series 5-Valve 4/4 C: I still so far not sure why I don't like it. Maybe like the kind gentleman (can't recall his name) said it is a little too new? Needs more time to break in? Puzzling. I thought 1 and 3 combination responded better than just the 4th valve alone. Oh, it does mention in their catalog book that it comes with all rotary valves too. I guess that is technically another 4/4 rotary CC (and BBb) option that can probably be ordered easily to the USA. But then again front action pistons are more popular so maybe I won't ever get a chance to try one anyone soon, pity. Plus tubas in general are not cheap, so it's not like I can buy the rotary version if it happens to come and I really end up liking it. Same with the BBb versions too. Or Maybe the Adams is one of those horns that you need to spend a few days with to truly appreciate.
Besson 3+1 compensating F: Fun tuba, has the small shank. The 2 piece Kelly X-Small with the small shank and Denis Wick 2 Heritage responded quite nicely. The 2 piece Kellyberg is probably too big for that size of tuba, technically. I'll share photos on the other thread for how deep the shanks sit out. For future reference. I thought the C below the staff was fine. Everything below the low C was stuffy, not surprising since it is a F and a compensator too.
Wilson 3200 6/4? F: Heavy even for an F. Pretty cool and neat. I haven't really played F tubas before so I can't really judge it. Can be a do it all tuba seeing as 4/4 BBb' and CC's are not as in vogue as 5/4 and bigger tubas are. At least from what I've experienced and read.
Kanstul 3/4 5 valve CC: I think this is the 902-5C CC 3/4 Concert Tuba that is still on the Kanstul website. Unless it wasn't a CC tuba... The main tuning slide seemed like it has length added to both of the sides. Neat tuba does take some time getting used to though. Quirky but interesting as a whole too. I think this the first time I've played 3/4 CC before. Again, neat.
Josef Lidl LBB783-4 3/4 BBb: Nice, has some resistance, even more so with the 4 valve combinations. I think it made the most obvious difference tonally with the rt-82 mouthpiece vs the other mouthpieces. Or since the tuba is short and bell being closer to your head makes the tonal difference more obvious.
Miraphone 494 Hagen 3/4 BBb: I can still attest that this tuba is amazing. I made sure to toot on it for a few seconds to make sure if my opinion has changed. My opinion has not changed and the 3/4 is really good. I'd highly recommend anyone to try it out.
Yamaha YBB-623 5 valve BBb: Wow, I thought this was really good. Especially considering the YBB-321 (it's okay) and the YBB-641 (
). I really wanted to try the CC version when it wasn't being tested by someone at that moment. But when I came back Yamaha was already gone 
. Sooooo I guess I'll just have to hope it's brought back next year or NERTEC if it's there to try one.B&S 4197 (pt20p) 5 valve 4/4 CC: I did spend time with it trying mouthpieces like I mentioned above. I think the tubas that I have or been using so far makes me not as picky or able to notice certain tubas have some stuffiness in the lower registers at times. Even if this and the rotary 4097 (pt20) are considering mediocre 4/4 CC's, as long as the 4097 I ordered plays at least as well as this tuba did to me, I will be happy. And it should be pretty close to coming now. Exciting!
Wessex Front action 3+1 compensating Eb protype: Cool, obviously nowhere near as stuffy as the Besson F, being an Eb and more modern design. I'm curious how the final version will be like.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I would have LOVED to try the Wilson Merlin's. Wilson also has a new Eb model too!
And it's different from the compact model that already exists! Wished I got a chance to try it.I would've like to try the B&S gr-41 (pt606p) and revisit and try the other Buffett-Crampon tubas again too.
Lots and lots of tubas. So many not enough time to try them all
I wanted to play the Wessex 6/4 Eb Tuba ‘Tubby’ - TE665HP or any large American style Eb because I looove the way they sound. And Marks comments about the 4 Valve stuffiness being resolved makes me really, REALLY want to play it again! I love to try the Wessex BBb 6/4 Compensated Tuba ‘Leviathan’ - TB681HP & TB691P tubas. Now that is a true classic right their folks, well technically they didn't come with compensating valves. Something something patent blah blah manufacturing blah blah, but umph they look soooo, soo nice in the pictures.
I also would always try to find the Eastman EBE851 (15" bell) / Eastman EBE853 (17" bell) tubas since I really like they way they play and sound. I wonder how they compare to a Besson 984 since, to me, the Eastman seemes smaller than the Besson 983.
I think there was a Meinl Weston 2155 at the conference I would've loved to try it since it gets mentioned a lot. Technically I'd like to try the 2157 more due to be having even more positive comments than the 2155. But short on time and remembered when I got home.
Still hoping to try the Yamaha 632 3+1 Neo 4/4 BBb. And seeing as their new BBb 623 was quite nice, I wonder how nice this model is too.
...
True! 
probably not, I guess.