Miraphone F tuba update
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:05 pm
I finally got to spend about an hour with my Miraphone F tuba today. I brought it with me when I dropped off the kids from camp, and drove to a local trailhead parking lot and sat around there and played. A few people walked by on the street and didn't say anything. When I was wrapping up, one lady stopped by and asked if that was my normal practice spot (I'd never been there before) and she told me it sounded great -- she's a string bass player. Small world sometimes.
Some random observations:
* First, I need to practice outside more often. I thought it was a lot of fun, and nice to hear the tuba in a non-resonant environment.
* There was a rattling/buzzing sound that drove me NUTS. I couldn't figure it out, then started to get annoyed about taking it in to find a busted solder joint or something... then I realized it has the lyre holder, and the screw was loose.
I promptly removed the screw, and never heard a buzz again.
* Confirmed that yes, the 5th valve circuit is the same length as the 4th. No slide pulling made it significantly more or less in any direction.
* That said, the double 4th valve setup actually works quite well! As a person who hasn't played F tuba all that much, I have no old habits or automaticity to unlearn, and I'm sure that's big for me. I didn't READ any music, just scales and playing things from memory or by ear. For me, starting in that range (the open F) feels very natural to me. Especially going into the low range and downwards, it just seems like the fingering patterns are pretty easy and natural, using the 4th and 5th valves for low stuff. I'll have to work out a fingering chart, but for an hour of face time on the horn, it was pretty much just "here's your 5th valve, learn how to use it or don't. But this is what it is." And when you just handle it like that, you'll do just fine with what you've got.
* Sound -- great projection, very clear and colorful, and speaks very easily. Presence but CLARITY! A really sweet and nice sounding tuba.
* With a large mouthpiece, this is PLENTY of sound, and maybe can be enough to get by (or better) in many situations. Physically, it's a similar height/bell/bore as a 184 or 185, just smaller bows and branches. With the .768 bore, so it can handle a good amount of air and output.
* Intonation is pretty good. I didn't expect it to be perfect, and it's not. But that's okay, and it's been easily workable without any real weirdness. Especially in the low range, things just seem to line up pretty well.
* Low C, B, and Bb are good. I've never been one to complain about this stuff, and on my relatively small time on F tubas, I've never taken more than a few minutes to learn the whole "do this to make it sound like that"
It's a lot of fun. I want to take it to orchestra rehearsal in September (rep list not available yet), but as long as there's nothing seismic or technical below the staff, it should be enough tuba sound as-is. Even if so, I'm wondering if I can make this tuba do what I need it to do.
The huge Rudy is a different kind of fun, but I'm seriously wondering if output, clarity, and projection would be just as beneficial for me to do my role as covering the tuba part in the orchestra. It's not a HUGE orchestra, but the Rudy was appropriate for it. The F will obviously have a different depth of sound, but also a different level of effort and control, and physically less demanding (obviously) for me to haul it around. Also, I love the sound of a bass tuba in an orchestra when it's done well. I guess that's my challenge!
Some random observations:
* First, I need to practice outside more often. I thought it was a lot of fun, and nice to hear the tuba in a non-resonant environment.
* There was a rattling/buzzing sound that drove me NUTS. I couldn't figure it out, then started to get annoyed about taking it in to find a busted solder joint or something... then I realized it has the lyre holder, and the screw was loose.
I promptly removed the screw, and never heard a buzz again.* Confirmed that yes, the 5th valve circuit is the same length as the 4th. No slide pulling made it significantly more or less in any direction.
* That said, the double 4th valve setup actually works quite well! As a person who hasn't played F tuba all that much, I have no old habits or automaticity to unlearn, and I'm sure that's big for me. I didn't READ any music, just scales and playing things from memory or by ear. For me, starting in that range (the open F) feels very natural to me. Especially going into the low range and downwards, it just seems like the fingering patterns are pretty easy and natural, using the 4th and 5th valves for low stuff. I'll have to work out a fingering chart, but for an hour of face time on the horn, it was pretty much just "here's your 5th valve, learn how to use it or don't. But this is what it is." And when you just handle it like that, you'll do just fine with what you've got.
* Sound -- great projection, very clear and colorful, and speaks very easily. Presence but CLARITY! A really sweet and nice sounding tuba.
* With a large mouthpiece, this is PLENTY of sound, and maybe can be enough to get by (or better) in many situations. Physically, it's a similar height/bell/bore as a 184 or 185, just smaller bows and branches. With the .768 bore, so it can handle a good amount of air and output.
* Intonation is pretty good. I didn't expect it to be perfect, and it's not. But that's okay, and it's been easily workable without any real weirdness. Especially in the low range, things just seem to line up pretty well.
* Low C, B, and Bb are good. I've never been one to complain about this stuff, and on my relatively small time on F tubas, I've never taken more than a few minutes to learn the whole "do this to make it sound like that"
It's a lot of fun. I want to take it to orchestra rehearsal in September (rep list not available yet), but as long as there's nothing seismic or technical below the staff, it should be enough tuba sound as-is. Even if so, I'm wondering if I can make this tuba do what I need it to do.
The huge Rudy is a different kind of fun, but I'm seriously wondering if output, clarity, and projection would be just as beneficial for me to do my role as covering the tuba part in the orchestra. It's not a HUGE orchestra, but the Rudy was appropriate for it. The F will obviously have a different depth of sound, but also a different level of effort and control, and physically less demanding (obviously) for me to haul it around. Also, I love the sound of a bass tuba in an orchestra when it's done well. I guess that's my challenge!
