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Hey guys, finally, after a year, I'm staring to get a good grip on my Rudy. At first, I thought it was simply huge, but now, after having a good grip on the horn, I must say that it is possibly one of the best souding horns available today. You do need to work quite a bit to get good intonation and clarity with it, but which horn doesn't.

I would like to know what you folks think about the horn. Soundwise, response, intonation and playability. If you've done auditions, have you seen any guys with Rudys make it to the finals or even win the audition. I'm sorry for the spelling, but I'm one of these darn francophones from far north Quebec city.

louish_006 wrote: You do need to work quite a bit to get good intonation and clarity with it, but which horn doesn't.

The Meinl-Weston Thor.

Is it a CC, or BBb you have?

Before I got my Neptune, I trialed a RM 5/4 BBb for a couple weeks. That had a really wonderful sound and I would really have liked to have got it, but at the time I had too much trouble controlling such a big beast and with some regret returned - soon after buying the Neptune instead which gives me an equally fantastic sound, but is easier to handle.

Well done for sticking with the Rudy and taming the beast! They are great tubas

I love the sound of that big Rudy. My teacher has one (as well as quite a few other kinds of tubas). In his hands it can do everything from monster huge orchestra support to nimble solos. He uses different mouthpieces for his different kinds of playing with it. I have sometimes thought about getting a bigger tuba (I have a 4/4 CC). I tried the 5/4 Rudy a few times and was struck by how much air it took. It was not an easy horn to play. I concluded that, since I'm an amateur with limited time to devote, it wasn't the horn for me.

I would love to try a Neptune, but I don't know where in the USA I could go to try one. Woodwind/Brasswind used to carry them, but no longer. Custom Music doesn't list the Neptune. I would like to hear any suggestions about where they might be found.

Cheers,
Allen

I have played the 5/4BBb Bayreuth model in Frankfurt last year (also tested a 4/4 frontaction piston and the 6/4 BBb kaiser): It was stunning.
I am pretty much used to air sucking tubas (played a besson 700 BBb for a while), so I expected this huge instrument to be even worse (proportional to the dimensions)... nothing like that, on the contrary ! A gentle blow seemed enough to get a wonderful sound out of it. It seemed to convert air into sound in a very efficient way.
The rotors were faster than anything I tried.
I had never seen craftsmanship like that before !

But (there's always a but...) the price told me that this instrument was not for (my) amateur use.(= I do not make a lot of money out of playing tuba)
It would have cost me 12000 EUR or something like that, (now probably more) and that is simply too much for me.

What do you pay in the States or in Canada for a 5/4 Rudy BBb these days ?

There are some 5/4 Rudy's on the second hand market in Germany, but 10000EUR for a used tuba is still too much.

Hi Allen,

Try Roger Lewis at WOODWIND & BRASSWIND 1 800 348 5003 ( http://www.wwbw.com" target="_blank" target="_blank ).

The Neptune 4098 rotary is listed as item number 68914.

I have an old piston version and I love it.

Ken

I just had to get in on this thread. I have had my 5/4 RED BRASS CC Rudy for over two years now. It is the same specs as any other 5/4, except made from red brass. As far as I know it is one-of-a –kind. I understand it required a lot of hand forming because red brass does not work the same as yellow brass. It is the only inanimate object I have ever named. “Red Rudy” was suggested by Lee Stofer and so it is!

Since I don’t have another in yellow brass to compare it to, I can not say what the difference in sound and playability the red brass makes. I speculate the sound is “warmer” and the horn does look different.

It is VERY efficient in turning effort into sound. It speaks fast for a big horn. It is pretty easy to play in tune, I use 4 easy alternate fingerings in slow to moderate passages and I use the 2nd valve kicker for certain notes, and I had the 2nd valve vented to make it easier to use. Low range, near pedal and pedal register are big and easy to tune. No problems in the middle and high register either. Overall, it has a sound with a LOT of “character”

It is great for a large ensemble. It can play soft with no problem, but I play my Eb for quintet, and I believe I will start using my Mirafone for some situations that don’t need so much horn. For me it is not quite an “everything horn” but it is my favorite horn.

And, right, it requires a skill set all its own; it takes some time to nail that down.

My avitar is a picture of "Red Rudy"

I used to own a neptune CC tuba ... too big is the best way to describe it. It it very hard to produce good quality music. Not a nimble horn at all.. valve throw is also very large.

I've never played the CC version (I don't think), but the 5/4 and 6/4 BBb's are really stunning. Craftsmanship and tone quality are among the best available.

oedipoes wrote:What do you pay in the States or in Canada for a 5/4 Rudy BBb these days ?

The Bb 5/4 Rudys are pretty rare over here, so I can't say what their price would be. But I've seen a couple of 5/4 C models with four valves sell for less than $5000, in excellent condition. Here's one of them, parked next to my 6/4 Holton BB-345 for comparison:



TubaRay owns this one, and I think it's safe to say that he produces a sound that gets favorably noticed with it.

Rick "noting that a 6/4 BBb might run in excess of $20,000 new" Denney

I believe I remember Calvin Jenkins telling me that he payed around $4500 for his 5v CC Rudy Meinl 5/4 about five years ago.

Custom Music has had a BBb on 'Bay for $7000 - if you do a search on "Meinl" it should show up. I'ts been there for a few months now. I really don't think they're much more difficult or take more air than most other large horns - they do make a lot more depth of sound for the effort. Also - the one I have had a leak at the bell ferrule, and the response and air needs suffered. I've gotten that fixed & it's now easier to play than my 4/4 (maybe 5/4) Gronitz. Great sounding horn

Bob1062 wrote:Jonathan, how does/did it compare to your Cerveny?

The Rudy was even bigger than the Cerveny! As for comparing their playing, that is difficult as there must have been a couple year gap between trying the Rudy and buying the Cerveny, but the Rudy definitely had the richest tone. Even better than a Fafner (with which I compared it at the time) and the only tuba I have ever played where I liked the tone as much, or even more than my Neptune.

Ok James, you've GOT to post a few pictures! Sounds like a beautiful tuba!!

would a rudy work in a wind band or brass band too ?

If I remember well, Jonathan visited the Rudolf Meinl factory some time ago, with a hornporn result posted on this forum. (I still dream about that post.... )
Did you get some pricelist or folder?

I plan to visit that factory once myself, if i find some eeeeeeuh...time (time, yeah right... €).

Can the lucky Rudy owners post some pictures of their different horns please?
You'd make me a bit happier (and I can dream more detailed)!

Wim

(next week I get my kaiser !!!!)

oedipoes wrote:If I remember well, Jonathan visited the Rudolf Meinl factory some time ago, with a hornporn result posted on this forum. (I still dream about that post.... )
Did you get some pricelist or folder?

Here is the post you refer - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=22407&p=188993&hilit=" target="_blank

No, I did not get to bring any pricelist away. I did not want to be tempted to buy more tubas!!!

Come on you Rudy-owning tubenetters, make me happy.
Post some pictures of your Rudy on this forum. RIck gave a good example.

Extra question, what about older Rudy's. (about 20 years or so) Have they always been technically superior, or has there been much evolution since ?
I've seen a Rudy with clockwork spring valves sell on ebay recently, it was a three-valver. Were the valves as smooth as they now are?

Thank you for posting your pictures. (love to see that goldbrass one!!)

Wim

In September my good friend Karl Schimke and I visited the Rudy Meinl factory and spent a few hours there. Rudy Jr is a very nice man and a generous host, and it was good to meet Rudy Sr too. We are both familiar with Rudy tubas - Karl has a 4/4 CC and a 4/4 F, and I had played a Rudy 5/4 CC for many years (and loved it), and had recently bought a 5/4 F. I was keen to try a few of the other tubas, including the infamous 6/4 BBb. We were too busy to stop and take many photos, but here's one that shows the larger side of the main tuning slide compared to a Laskey 30G.
This is an amazing tuba, you need to hold it to see how big it is, not many photos really show that. To be honest I cannot imagine any situation where the 5/4 was not big enough

If I was looking for an "all round" CC tuba I'd chose the rotary 4345, I think it's a fantastic horn!
I already have a larger C tuba, and I'd love to find a way to get a 3/4 C into my line-up of horns. If I won the lottery I'd love to swap my 5/4 F for a 4/4, then I'd be done

Cam

I bought an older 5/4 Rudy BBb 16 months ago from an posting on this site. At the time I was using a brand new (10 months old) 1291 5v BBb. After playing the Rudy for about a week I shipped the 1291 down to Dillons. As much as I liked the 1291 the Rudy was the one I needed to play.

This horn is simply amazing. I only play traditional jazz now and this horn does everything I ask of it. It takes slightly more air than does my 186, but not an onerous amount. The intonation is almost dead on with just the 4 valves. I only need to pull 1 for the low (1-2-3-4) CC. The low bell tone B sounds almost like a pedal and jumps out of the horn. Even with my oversized 35.5 mm and extremely deep cupped mouthpieces the horn plays rather easily up to the F above the staff.

I've been playing tuba for about 55 years and this horn is head and shoulders above any horn I've ever owned or played. I would not hesitate to use this in a quintet or a large wind ensemble. The dynamic shadings, nimbleness and richness of tone from this horn constantly amaze me as I play it. I'm probably going to order an extra large coffin and ask to have this horn buried with me, similar to the old Pharaohs who were entombed with their worldly possessions for use in the afterlife.