bloke wrote:I can offer an outstanding price right now on (brand new - very limited supply) the original version of the "Howard Johnson" Meinl-Weston... (2011 TA - lacquer finish)
(The front-action piston and rotary versions are also super-marked down on a special - the FA and RA versions, but they are still priced a good bit higher than the TA version.)
' just sayin'...
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Last edited by k001k47 on Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
One of my favorite quintet horns was a conn 2j that I stupidly sold.perfect quintet horn for my taste.tuba tinker is selling the Bb version currently,the conn 4j.thats what I would go with...
Pensacola Symphony
Troy University-adjunct tuba instructor
Yamaha yfb621 with 16’’ bell,with blokepiece symphony
Eastman 6/4 with blokepiece symphony/profundo
- How well do the Chinese copies of this model play?
I'm finally in a position to say a thing or two about the Chinese copy. It is small. Quintet for sure. I tried it this afternoon in a community band rehearsal; nowhere near enough volume. I went back to the big Conn in that context pretty quickly.
The intonation and response are easy (though the 4th valve tuning slide was fully committed this afternoon). The sound is focused and clear. A pleasing little instrument all things considered. This time of year I want a horn this size, and it fits the bill nicely. I don't know how long I'll keep it, but for the time being I'm glad to have it.
I'm afraid I don't have the faintest idea. It doesn't remind me of any other tuba I've played, but my experience is limited. It's the only 3/4 rotary tuba I've ever been in the same room with as far as I know. For me, doing my bit in a volunteer church quintet and a couple of community bands, it is easy to play responsively and in tune, and is therefore quite satisfactory.
The other thing I should say about it is that the construction is better than I have seen on Chinese horns in the past. The tubing is square; there are no places where it looks like a tube was forced into place or budged out of alignment to fit a brace. The only fit-and-finish problem I see is that it does still have those imperfectly buffed inner branches that others have commented on as a perennial Jinbao issue.
20J's/21J's work surprisingly well with quintets. I've used mine plenty of times. I used to have a picture of an old brass quintet playing outside and the guy was using a 25J upright bell. Ill try to dig up that pic and post it.
Frank Ortega wrote:There is a great YBB 641, 4 valve, 3/4 BBb at Dillon Music right now.
3/4? Really? At an .810 bore, I'd have to say it is on the large size of a 4/4, bell size nonwithstanding. Owned one, loved it, wouldn't play it in a quintet if I had a choice, which I did. Curiously hard to center A on top of the staff, stupendous low register, not mouthpiece sensitive, and built like a tank.
(The front-action piston and rotary versions are also super-marked down on a special - the FA and RA versions, but they are still priced a good bit higher than the TA version.)
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