Compensating or Non-Compensating

Tom Gregory · Post by **Tom Gregory** » Thu May 27, 2004 9:39 am

I think euphonium players are the only ones who seem to know how the compensating system works. Tuba players have the tradition of 5 valves to comensate for low note intonation problems and see those type of instruments as being superior. The thought that (on a 4 valve tuba) you could play down, chromatically, to the fundemental seems to be a mystifying concept. The thought of having a usable 1 and 4 combination has still not been unversally accepted by tubists.

I do not play any compensating instruments for the reasons I stated. I do understand how the compensating sytem works and have never had the time or money (to purchase a compensating instrument) to invest in the pursuit.

Just my .02 pence

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Thu May 27, 2004 9:44 am

This is coming from a euphoniumist, who always plays a compensating horn....

I suppose its because the tubist himself is always "compensating" the horn with that 1st valve slide you always see them moving around. I am betting that the average professional tubist has about a dozen different "positions" for that slide, if not more...

Some horns also have a half-tone fifth valve for intonation compensation.

I am no tech guy, but I am guessing that an automatic comensating system becomes less useful with longer and longer tubing, because more linear adjustment is needed to move a pitch--say 5 cents in a tuba than 5 cents in a euphonium. So, I think it'd be hard to make a compensating tuba that is "set it and forget it"--that all pitches would be in easy lipping range, without touching a slide. A euph, on the other hand, can be made reasonably in tune--that 95% of the pitches are easy to adjust with embouchure alone.

Thats my uneducated opinion... lets see what the tubists say

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Thu May 27, 2004 11:31 am

Please allow me to (re)state some obvious basics.

Compensation on an instrument matters only when the last valve (3 on a 3 valve or 4 on a 4 valve) is depressed. Until then, there's no practical difference between a compensating and non-compensating horn.

Compensation improves intonation on a 4-valve instrument only when the 4th valve and some other valve is depressed. Depressing the compensating valve and 2 or more other valves still results in intonation errors, albeit not as serious as on a non-compensating instrument.

If a horn has bad intonation because of problems in construction, a compensating valve cluster won't improve things.

The compensating system with the largest number of notes in tune (at least theoretically) is the 3 valve system. The 4 valve system has an extended low range, but at the expense of intonation accuracy involving valve 3 combinations wtih valves 1 and 2.

So, for instance, a low F played on a compensating Eb tuba (134 depressed) is no more accurate than the same note played on a non-compensating 3 valve BBb instrument.

Art Hovey · Post by **Art Hovey** » Fri May 28, 2004 12:12 am

The compensating 4-valve BBb tubas that I have tried have been so stuffy in the low register that they were not satisfying to play. I understand the system perfectly well and have great respect for its inventor and for the manufacturers. I have played on some wonderful compensating euphoniums and Eb tubas, but they just haven't made it work well enough yet on big tubas in my opinion.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Fri May 28, 2004 8:19 pm

How many works have you seen lately where you're required to go below E natural? If the answer is next to none, then perhaps the 3 valve compensating Boosey BBb is all you really need.

I know of a few non-orchestral works that go down to low C or so, but they're comparatively uncommon in my own experience.