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I had the chance to spend a couple hours in the exhibition hall at the Army Conference, and while it was impossible to get to everything, these are the horns that left a lasting impression for me. I found myself looking at a lot of big rotor contrabasses, as I've been exploring a move to rotors in the semi-distant future.

Rudy Meinl 5/4 Bb (Baltimore Brass)- My favorite sound in the whole room. Rich, dense, lean earthmover. Tons of core with some decent ring to it. Extremely unforgiving to play, but well worth it for the sound. Requires lots of volumized air and a player in top shape to maximize what the horn offers. Some typical big Bb quirks, but nothing unmanageable, especially with the second valve kicker.

Rotary Fafner- great, typical Germanic sound. Easier to steer than the Rudy, but not quite as rewarding to play. Also twice the price. To my limited knowledge, this and the Hagen 497 are the most common Bb's in the European audition circuit, with the Meinl 197/2 being the Yamayork equivalent across the pond.

Piston Fafner- More snappy than its rotor counterpart, but played a lot like a big Thor. Depending on what you're looking for, it's either the best of both worlds or an uneasy compromise.

Baer- Great sounding tuba. Clear, lively response and tone color with a higher volume ceiling than my PCK before it gets edgy. Good pitch. Ergonomics weren't for me, but most people won't have a problem with it if you like the Meinlschmidt big valve block.

Tuono- Probably my favorite C tuba I tried there. Dark, punchy sound with a lot of mass, yet the big 5/4 sound is a perfect size for someone on the audition circuit who likes rotary valves. Big and clean.

MRP Piston C- I was curious to try this, as I'd heard a lot of differing opinions and didn't know what to expect. It's pretty good, it plays like an optimized PT-7. It seems like a worthwhile entry in the big 5/4-small 6/4 space. Not necessarily a wide wall of sound, but more of a column.

MW 4250- My favorite F tuba there. Colorful, vibrant sound with a lot of projection. Even and easy to play with next to no quirks. I wouldn't have minded some changes to the paddle positioning for added comfort. North of $13k is a lot to ask, but I can see why this instrument is very popular across the pond.

PT-12- Pretty good. Typical new B&S quality; less sparkle than older horns, but maybe 10% more stable. I much prefer my PT-10.

MW 2182- Not bad, just not my cup of tea. I guess I'm not a piston F kinda guy, and this confirmed that.

Willson Rotax F- Really good at what it does! Built like a tank, with a really dense, weighty sound that has a ton of power. Can come across as dead in softer playing, but this does a really good job of hitting the orchestral F/small C sweet spot.

Willson Merlin C- Pleasant to play. Very responsive and nimble sound that was consistent across the registers. Only gripe was that the 5th valve was incredibly stiff. I think the fulcrum point of the lever is placed too close to the thumb.

Feel free to add in the replies what you tried (or what you sent home with).

Great stuff, thanks for posting!

What's the price on the BBC Rudy? I miss mine constantly!

So glad you liked the Willson rotor F. I have one and won’t let it go easily. These should be more popular.

Of course, mine is being heavily modified, but still

I’ve got to play one of those Merlin C’s too. I think it could be a great entry into the 4/4-ish realm.

I guess I've never played an old style 2341... there was one there and I loved it. Very responsive.

I had a 3302 in high school before greeting a 5450... so it was fun to try the 3301... amazing tuba.

I also really loved the Prokofiev

The new 3+1 front action wessex Eb was actually a lot of fun. Good sound, seemed to be good intonation, fun to play if you like 3+1

Willson has a new, smaller Eb that is a really good horn, but that leadpipe was so low for me

The HoJo was a pig and a half. I don't think I've ever played a worst brand new tuba. Stuffy to the point that I wondered if something was crammed down the bell

I mainly focused on the Norwegian star I purchased and being blown away by how amazing the hagen 494 was. Tomorrow I'll play more makes and models

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 6:38 pm Great stuff, thanks for posting!

What's the price on the BBC Rudy? I miss mine constantly!

About $6k, but I'd estimate it needs some work to really bring it to its full potential.

Diego A. Stine wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 11:30 pm

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 6:38 pm Great stuff, thanks for posting!

What's the price on the BBC Rudy? I miss mine constantly!

About $6k, but I'd estimate it needs some work to really bring it to its full potential.

Thanks. Aw man, that's killing me. Someone (else) is gonna LOVE owning that thing!

Those older RM-5/4 tubas mouthpipes were unnecessarily large on their small ends. Having some experience with those, they sound just the same with a more normal taper on the part wrapping around the bell, and much less work.

bloke wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 10:38 am Those older RM-5/4 tubas mouthpipes were unnecessarily large on their small ends. Having some experience with those, they sound just the same with a more normal taper on the part wrapping around the bell, and much less work.

Forgot about that.

Mine had been retrofit with a Miraphone 190 BBb leadpipe we before it came my way. Played like a dream.

Here's a few more for the day

Willson merlin. Really really nice CC tuba. Literally the only thing I would change is putting in lighter valve springs. Clear and in tune in all registers

Wessex tubby. I played an early version of this a couple years ago and I thought it was a little stuffy in the low range. They have fixed those issues and it's a really nice tuba now. Can't say a single bad thing about it, but I did tell Jonathan that I thought it might be even better with an 18 inch bell

Eastman 534 BBb Mama Mia... I played one these years ago. (pre-shires) at the time I thought it was better than the 2341, but basically the same tuba. They have refined it over time and now it's incredible. Tied with the hagen 494 for my favorite BBb here

Eastman 832. Again, so much better than I thought it would be. Great valves, quick response, and very nimble for a largeish tuba

Tuono. Still might be my favorite CC tuba, but I'm a few years older than the last time I picked one up. Man... That tuba got heavy... Or I got old

Loathe as I am to disagree with Diego, I found the 4250 lost all power below the staff but was punchy and fun on and above the staff. For F tubas, the one that sang in all registers was the B&S 3100, six valves with the classic Symphonie bore. Lovely, lively.

Reading session beginning…more later.

Rick “back later” Denney

The Wilson 3400S FAS (5v Eb) has stolen my heart. I came back on 3 separate occasions to spend time with it.

There was an excellent Marzan on consignment with Baltimore Brass. IMO it would benefit from a Franken 5th, but had killer response.

The Wessex Prototype Eb (3+1) caught my attention, too. Seemed like an excellent horn.

It was fun to finally try the Thor. Almost felt like playing a sousaphone.

Was hoping for more Frankenhorns. C'est la vie.

Rick Denney wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 2:54 pm Loathe as I am to disagree with Diego, I found the 4250 lost all power below the staff but was punchy and fun on and above the staff. For F tubas, the one that sang in all registers was the B&S 3100, six valves with the classic Symphonie bore. Lovely, lively.

Reading session beginning…more later.

Rick “back later” Denney

' have always thought those 4250 tubas are just fine (something I could certainly play...great tuning / marketable resonance, etc.) but (once again: compared to what I bought new over for decades ago) noticeably more effort for basically "plenty good enough" results.

(I'm currently working on a epic/not-often-programmed symphonic work - which I'm going to play next month - which is might just be a little too hard for me...??, but I'm playing through the part just fine, BECAUSE OF the instrument that I've had for over four decades.)

There are way more models of F tubas available for sale today than there were when I bought mine. I would compare them to the situation with alto saxophones:
The alto saxophone development hit its pinnacle with the Selmer Paris Mark VI, and has sort of gone sideways - if not a bit downhill - from that point onward. It's the same thing as with F tubas:
"As this is amazing, bigger must surely be amazing-er."

...but the same is true today (ie. younger people today will never understand what they're missing), with a whole bunch of things - and maybe most of those things aren't even solid 3D objects.

Here's another one. The YBB - 623 was a pretty interesting horn. It had two main tuning slides, including on on top as part of a smaller branch
Never seen that before

The 4th valve was a little stuffy and they are officially calling it a work in progress, but it has some promise

The elephant room had some really fine instruments.

MRP
Gold brass Bruckner
Miraphone 188
Norwegian Star


These were the ones that I played that I thought were great.

The Wessex Gnagey is a really fine horn. I’m really hoping to purchase one within the year. The Wessex prototype Eb was also a treat to play, I’m just a stupid American that is t use to using my left finger

Hands down the best tuba that I kept going back to was the Josef Lidl Moldau Deluxe. Truly an amazing C tuba that I could not put down. Seriously thinking about selling my Bruckner for this horn.

Just wow.

LeMark wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 8:42 pm they are officially calling it a work in progress

Ouch, that's disappointing to hear.

If wessex can fix the stuffy 4th valve of the tubby, then I bet Yamaha can.

This is personally directed at no one, but (re: another thread which discusses "stuffy") I'm fairly convinced that there is a tremendous percentage of players who "test" instruments by blowing into them in precisely the same way(s) they've been blowing into instruments with which they are familiar (ie. their currently-owned instrument, etc.)

fictitious yet an (hopefully demonstrative) example

I'm a bass trombonist in a big band - with play a bunch of rollicking charts - where I really am expected to "kick" the band hard...
...but I also play in a jazz quartet on Sundays at a country club brunch - and played the baritone horn in high school - so I'm going to find myself a valve trombone, because I'm working myself to death using that bass trombone at that jazz quartet gig...
[later...]
Well...I ended up not buying a valve trombone. I tried out five or six different ones - including a couple of new makes said to be good, a couple of classic USA makes said to be great, and a Chinese one...I used my old high school Schilke 51D mouthpiece and (usually: right after jazz band practice with my bass trombone) tried them out...They all played stuffy.

...or (an easily-imaginable fictitious occurrence/quotation)
bloke's F tuba plays stuffy...It doesn't "have" a low C...etc...

...or (broadening the analogy...)
I am an expert at driving tractor-trailer rigs (18-wheelers), so would it be OK if I borrowed your Ferrari 250 LM to race at LeMans?

I have some video I'll upload when I get home