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Matt Walters at Dillon's will give you a skilled, honest and candid opinion on any of the horns they have. Write him at: matt AT dillonmusic DOT com

Cheers,
Allen

I played that one in February at The Tuba Euph Conf. in DC... I thought it played very well, but not too much differently than the new Conn 5xJ horns they had at the Exhibit also.

I also played the Dillon/Conn at the Army conference in February. It played extremely well. I am surprised that it is still for sale.

I would take a serious look at the Martin/Dillon tuba that hangs out along side the Conn/Dillon at conventions and at the store.

Yosef: Tubist wrote:I played that one in February at The Tuba Euph Conf. in DC... I thought it played very well, but not too much differently than the new Conn 5xJ horns they had at the Exhibit also.

Funny, since the Conn 5xJ tubas are just chopped Kings, not Conns...

J.c.S.

I remember trying both the Conn and the Martin at Dillon's a few months ago. I don't remember details as to why but 1) I was less than impressed with the Martin, and 2) I thought the Conn was good but not outstanding. The horn that REALLY got my juices flowing was the Holton. At $10K it's way pricier, but as I recall it has a great feel to it, and a killer sound with plenty of projection and heft.

I also tried out that horn, as well as the Martin, and, well, just about all the front-valved contra's there (well maybe not ALL).

I really enjoyed both horns and if I was in the market to buy a CC I would have considered it. I believe Matt said that the Conn played too dark for the previous owners taste---HOWEVER---I've no idea why he (the previous owner) came to this conclusion. The Conn didn't seem unusually dark at all, and seeing that most old Conn's really penetrate through anything, I wonder if I'd be worried about this. It was certainly a fun tuba to play on. Having owned a 56J, I'd prefer this tuba.

The 4/4, 5/4, 6/4 business is only a grammatical guideline. I'd say 5/4 for both horns because they play that way FOR ME.

The Conn is a .734 bore with a 20" bell. (a 56J is a .687 w/a 20" bell), (a Meister Walter Nirschl .748 w/a 19"bell=also a REAL FINE TUBA!). The Martin is a .687 w/a 21.5" bell. The 56J does what the Martin does, starts a bit smaller, ends a bit larger. Good concept, if you ask me. Works on the Martin. I believe many prefer the 54J 19" bell, however. So much for cerebral concepts.

Good luck, Patrick,

ps. btw, the Holton was indeed really nice, but I'd really qualify it as a 6/4 the way it plays.