Since I was in Baltimore anyway...

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Rick Denney
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Since I was in Baltimore anyway...

Post by Rick Denney »

...I dropped by Baltimore Brass to get Albert to solder down a couple of braces.

And while I was there, I did a little tooting, just to prove to Mike Russo that I'm a no-account hobbyist (Dave and Albert already knew the answer to this issue).

I didn't spend more than a minute or two with any instrument, so to make an impression, it would have to really glow in the dark.

I finally got a chance to play a Fafner, and yes it glows in the dark. It is more agile than the Holton, but has a more direct and focused sound. Not smaller, just more direct and focused. It was far easier to blow than the other big rotary kaiser tubas I've played, which include the Miraphone 190, the Rudy Meinl 5/4, and the Cerveny 601. Great tuba.

And at Dave's beckoning I played a G-50 with an actual York bell. It's a wonderful instrument, but then I like all the G-50's. I didn't compare it side-by-side with a G-50, but it certainly lost nothing and likely gained some.

All the King 2341's in their stock seem to be good ones. I think King has worked through some of the issues with their first run of these instruments.

I played several CC's, but found what I've found before: If someone gave me a Meinl-Weston 2000, I'd learn CC fingerings just to play it.

And the big news for those who desire big BBb BAT's is what's on the way. They had three sets of Holton outer branches, one that came from a CC conversion, that will all be supplied with valvesets and configured for BBb. I've played several of the Holton BBb tubas that they have brought back to life, and they are all wonderful. Not as wonderful as mine, but still better than just about any of the alternatives in BBb. Of course, I'm partial. I also played a BBb Holton that had just had a 2165 valveset installed, and it's an option for old Holtons whose valves are missing or unrepairable. Not cheap, of course, but a near-perfect fit and good quality valves. But they are heavier than the Holton valvesets, and add noticeable weight.

Rick "whose wife paled with panic when told I'd been to BBC" Denney
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Matt G
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Post by Matt G »

Meinl-Weston figured it out on that Fafner. Of course, they basically copied the German version of the York and tweaked it a bit.

From my own experience, it does every thing the old Alexander's do, but with far better intonation and response. They Meinl-Weston doesn't have quite the sound of the Alex's, but it is just as good, just different. Of course, the Meinl-Weston probably weighs a bit more than the Alex's, especially in the bell.

What would be quite the experiment is if the boys at MW were to put that into a CC. It couldn't be any worse than the older 2155.

I also wonder if anyone stateside has tooted on the 195/2, the handmade version. If that matches up the the advantage teh 2000 has over the 2155, they would be selling those about as quick as they could make them. That might be the case, where they are selling them all in Germany, where this horn is probably a huge hit.
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cjk
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escape ??

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escape Klaus ???


:wink:
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tubacdk
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Rotary MW 2155

Post by tubacdk »

Matthew Gilchrest wrote: What would be quite the experiment is if the boys at MW were to put that into a CC. It couldn't be any worse than the older 2155.
in defense of the "older 2155," I've only played one of them and I liked it so much I bought it right away. The tone is just amazing on it, and there is only one quirky note pitch-wise, Eb below the staff. It is very very sharp played 2&3, but slots perfectly fingered 1&5. Everything else slots well and the low register is fantastic.

I know that there are some 2155Rs that have unbelievably bad pitch, so I'm not going to vouch for them in general. But from what people have said, the tone on all of them was amazing. I think MW was on to something great with that horn but ditched it too soon. Anybody else own one of these rare beasts? I know Lee Stofer recently traded one out of his shop before he knew what it was.

Looked great though:

Image
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Lew
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Fafner

Post by Lew »

I did get to try out a Fafner not that long ago, but I wasn't particularly blown away. I still like the Miraphone 1291 better, and neither of them enough to replace my King 2341. On the other hand, it could just be that I'm also just good enough to keep my positions with the local community bands, so maybe they require a little more advanced player to appreciate them. :roll:
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Rick Denney
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Re: Fafner

Post by Rick Denney »

Lew wrote:I did get to try out a Fafner not that long ago, but I wasn't particularly blown away. I still like the Miraphone 1291 better, and neither of them enough to replace my King 2341. On the other hand, it could just be that I'm also just good enough to keep my positions with the local community bands, so maybe they require a little more advanced player to appreciate them. :roll:
That would NOT be me.

I like the King. Nice, round tone with good flexibility and agility. It goes where you point it without a lot of work. But it does not move the earth the way a big tuba does, especially down low. The Fafner moves earth.

I've only played the 1291 once, and not in conditions where I could judge, apparently, because at the time I wondered what the fuss was about. The 191 has always seemed to suck the air out of me when I've tried them. That did not at all happen with the Fafner.

But everyone has different objectives and different circumstances when they try out horns. And the horns themselves vary a lot.

Rick "thinking the Fafner did not require high-end ability to appreciate" Denney
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Post by pedaljay »

I tried the Fafner out for the first time a couple weekends ago. I was very impressed with the horn!!! But, who needs this horn unless you are a principal tubist in a major orchestra. Don't get me wrong, the horn would have a happy home with me as it would get played quite a bit, but not in that 105 piece orchestra. My main reason for trying out horns was to compare my Marzan to the new 1291. I was convinced and ready to purchase a new Miraphone after hearing all the hype and positive comments on this horn. But after about 3 hours back to back the Marzan came out on top!

The Fafner was of course bigger sounding than the Marzan and the horns would compliment themselves nicely in my arsenal, but I couldn't justify the money for a horn that just is not practical. If the handmade Fafner is much better than stock Fafners as the MW 2000 is to the MW 2155 all I can say is WOW!!!

Just my 2 cents

Jason Martin
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