Cimbasso comparison

[Haugan]

Jonathantuba: Get outta here!!(in the friendly explicative sense) You gotta know the "Cimbasso" has been around for 120+ years. Do a search and find some Cimbasso history. There is even a "sample" on one of the pages I came across, though I can't seem to find it in a search today.

Q: How does one "know" what a 19th century cimbasso "sounds" like?
A: By PLAYING on one. (in collections in Milan & Florence @ 1975)

[Lee Stofer]

I agree with an earlier posting, that the Eb, CC, and BBb cimbassi just do not feel or sound like the instrument in F. I have tried the Melton, Mirafone, Rudolf Meinl and Thein cimbassi (and the Thein contrabass trombone), and I believe that any one of them would be a joy to own. Call me a traditionalist, but if I were buying one to use for orchestral gigs, I don't think I'd even consider a cimbasso in any key but F. and, the great thing I've found is that the low "C" range on a cimbasso is rock-solid, much different than on an F tuba - go figure.

[Mark]

Miraphone makes a cimbasso?

[Dan Satterwhite]

I've just finished doing a weeks worth of Mendelssohn serpent parts on Cimbasso with Manchesters Halle Orchestra. Again not original, but a much better idea than a Serpent, with regards to intonation!!
What is the origin of the notion that it's a 50's invention.

It's the same question of whether we're talking about the cimbasso as a historical instrument, or the modern large bore "cimbasso" as made by Rudi Meinl et al. The latter is the instrument that he's stating is a '50's invention.

The last time I played Mendelssohn's Midsummernight's Dream, I was wishing I had my Rudi Meinl cimbasso with me. You can get a very similar sound on it to that Nick Byrne gets on the sound clips of his ophicleide (really virtuoso playing, by the way) on his website at www.ophicleide.com. For something like that I think it would be interesting to try aiming the bell down by rotating it down toward the valveset. Makes it a little less "in your face." Steve Johns of the NYC Opera sometimes plays his this way to get the bell out of the heads of the trumpet players in front of him.

Personally, I've played several examples of the Rudi Meinl and the Meinl Weston, and I think that once you figure out how to blow them in a more trombone-like way, they're fun to play, and fine instruments. I'm sure the Haag and Thein are great. The Mirafone is a much smaller bore, has only four valves, and is a completely different instrument that I found to be, at best, a chore to play.

As to the keys of available instruments, I find that a modern 5 valve F works best for me. The range around C below the staff is quite free-blowing, unlike a German F tuba. I haven't spent much time on a BBb cimbasso, but when I did play on one, it reminded me (in the staff) of a Mirafone BBb contrabass trombone...gurgly and hard to focus. The majority of notes you have to play on a cimbasso in Italian opera or any other orchestral music are in the staff...or above! Verdi's Luisa Miller has several high E's at the top of arpeggios. Aida has a couple of pretty exposed high D's. Not exactly the "singing" register of the BBb or CC cimbasso.

Dan