Wessex ‘Luzern’ and really sharp Bb

[Kingpin094]

After a few more hours of playing I can get the low Bb to almost in tune but it takes some lip gymnastics to get there. I am taking it to the local shop tomorrow as the said they had someone to give it a blow. Also may try a different mouthpiece to see if that helps. Thanks for all of the information. Really appreciate the support that the tuba community provides.

[Dan Tuba]

Some of the mouthpieces that I thought worked well with the Luzern are a Robert Tucci 50 and a Kelly 50 (Stainless steel and Lexan both worked well). If you are a fan of Bach 24AWs, that seemed to work fairly well.

[Big Toot]

I just switched from an incorrect-for-BBb-tuba mouthpiece to a PT-85 and the difference is quite a bit more than I would have anticipated. Maybe that could be a problem. Not to say that it is "the" problem, but still.

[Wyvern]

The Wessex Luzern generally has good intonation. In my experience testing a lot of these, that Bb is normally about 10 cents higher than the octave above, but that is within usual tendencies of tubas (none are 100% in tune on every note) and easily managed.

I would go by the advice here of getting an experienced player to try and also test with different mouthpieces. If there really is a problem with the tuba supplied, Wessex will of course replace at no charge. And to give you assurance, I would be happy to play test any replacement personally to confirm its a good one before shipping.

[Kingpin094]

The Wessex Luzern generally has good intonation. In my experience testing a lot of these, that Bb is normally about 10 cents higher than the octave above, but that is within usual tendencies of tubas (none are 100% in tune on every note) and easily managed.

I would go by the advice here of getting an experienced player to try and also test with different mouthpieces. If there really is a problem with the tuba supplied, Wessex will of course replace at no charge. And to give you assurance, I would be happy to play test any replacement personally to confirm its a good one before shipping.

When you test these what type of mouthpiece do you use? Just curious.

[Wyvern]

When you test these what type of mouthpiece do you use? Just curious.

The mouthpiece which is supplied with the tuba

[Three Valves]

Those Wessex HB mouthpieces aren’t bad. Will they ever be in stock again??

[Wyvern]

Those Wessex HB mouthpieces aren’t bad. Will they ever be in stock again??

Yes, the whole batch sold at once and it then takes 7 months to get next batch manufactured to restock

[TheGoyWonder]

This is NOT uncommon, this is a very common complaint with the X-Brand Chinese "210" tuba.
A talented 8th grader got one for her next xx Christmases and birthdays. She was having same issues, I tried her horn and I had same issues. She plays her school's ancient multiple-rehabbed 186 as soon as she hit high-school.
Maybe Wessex found a way to compensate for the problem, I'd believe that.
But I wouldn't believe that their production workers are doing it if they aren't being watched LIKE A HAWK.

[Three Valves]

There is no low Bb in the Bordogni 14.

I did notice his MTS is quite a ways out.

Mine works fine.

It worked with an RT50 but I prefer a slightly smaller TU25.

A Bach 12 worked too.

[MackBrass]

Ok, I'm not sure the family tree of the Luzern, but it looks remarkably like a 5V version of the standard Chinese Hirsbrunner copy. If that is the case, I have played a number of the 4V versions where the students playing them had the same issue. The low Bb was extremely sharp. As a 'seasoned' player, I was able to get the note to work, but it was not pleasant... I know that Mack had the longer tuning slide for awhile for the 210, but not sure if that was the problem they were fixing????

We sell the 4v model, the 210, and across the board they are on the sharp side from the factory without any modifications done. To fix this we added 1.25 inches to the length of the main tubing slide and this was the fix. We made that change about several years ago and haven't had an issue since. On the demo video I did for that model, you can see where I have the main tuning slide and it's out pretty far. For me this was definitely an issue because most of the time I play with my slides pretty closed to all the way in and only on occasion do I find myself pulling out maybe a inch, but this again depends on what model tuba I am playing.

[MackBrass]

Tom's lower Bb's sound approximately on pitch to me...

This video was one of our early versions, stock model without any changes from the factory. Soon after this video we lengthened the MTS which is what the horn really needed. We stock the longer main tuning slide for our customers that purchased one of those earlier versions and still have some slides left. I can shoot you a longer slide if you like and we don't charge for our parts, even if the horn came from another company. It's a tuba community thing.

As to the partials, some being 10 cents higher as previously mentioned, I haven't noticed it being off at all. I agree with the statement that there is no such a thing as a perfectly in tune tuba, but if the fundamental on any horn is that far out it should be seriously looked at, JMHO. Maybe the addition of the 5th valve has something to do with this but we don't sell 5 valve BBb tubas so I can only speculate. Overall this is a great model with great pitch and sound.

Aside from a shop checking for valve alignment, unless they can actually play tuba, and play well, this may be a waste of time. You can check your valve alignment by removing the back caps and see for yourself. Keep in mind that with any new horn, or any horn that just had their bumpers changed, the bumpers should be cut a hair on the heavy side to allow them room to break in. A good shop will at least be able to scope the valves to make sure they are in the ballpark but a more experienced player is what I think you need here so it can be played.

As to mouthpieces, this model is not really mouthpiece sensitive as just about any mpc will work. Use what feels comfortable to you as what may work for one person may not work for the next twenty and vice versa.

[Three Valves]

The high note in this etude is the A natural. I still have to bring it down an octave. I blame the tuba. I must have gotten a bad one!!

[Kingpin094]

Don't want to drag up an old thread but figured someone might be curious how things turned out. I contacted Wessex about the tuba and without even asking any questions sent a second instrument. It played pretty much the same for me so it was as I expected 99% me and 1% the tuba. After another 100 or so hours of practice the tuba really does sound nice. I auditioned for the local Civic Band last week and start rehearsals with them next week. Want to send a big shout out to the folks at Wessex for there outstanding customer support.

Let this be a lesson (waiting for the "I told you so") to anyone learning or returning to an instrument. If something does not sound right it is more then likely you.