Interesting, I tried two of these a WWBW last summer and found the intonation excellent. It could have been the mouthpiece, they are very sensitive.Allthumbs wrote:In fact, the only piston tuba I felt drawn to was the Rudolf Meinl 4345. This tuba has a very easy blow, with consistent response, and is ergonomically comfortable. Downsides were a brighter sound, and intonation.
It was those Miraphone 1291/1292 that had major intonation problems. I found the pitch on the RM even a little bit better than both of the Yamaha 822s I tried. Intonation on the RM was comparable to the MW2145 or MW2155 (which were quite good, but I found the sound to be a little too dark, kinda 'dead' or 'dry').
I ended up purchasing a RM4345 piston tuba, used from a private seller (I liked his horn much better than either of the two at WWBW).
I agree, the RM has a very bright, colorful sound. For me, those weren't downsides... I really like that in a tuba, character. The thumb paddle on the 4345 seemed to be in a weird position when I tried it, I have since got used to it, and like it very much.
The only problem is a slightly stuffy and not-very-responsive lower register. I have been on the horn for about 7 months now, and I have worked around this, it just required a different kind of blow.
