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Hello all,
Has anyone played both the Willson Eb and F tubas? How do they compare to each other? Also how much of a difference is there in the two's leadpipe angles? I have spent time on the Eb but haven't had the chance to honk the F. Do the two play alike or are they different beasts?

Thanks in advance

I haven't played the big F in a while, but BOTH the 3400 and the small F rock! I don't remember ergonomics on the small F (though I didn't like the virtually inaccessible 4th slide), but on the 3400 all I would need to do to make it perfect would be to remove the thumb ring and angle the receiver slightly.

I suppose you could choose one over the other based upon "what kind of playing you do", but you will certainly enjoy either!

bububassboner wrote:Hello all,
Has anyone played both the Willson Eb and F tubas? How do they compare to each other? Also how much of a difference is there in the two's leadpipe angles? I have spent time on the Eb but haven't had the chance to honk the F. Do the two play alike or are they different beasts?

Thanks in advance

There is a new smaller Eb being presented in Frankfurt.
Check that one out too, might be worth waiting.

http://www.willson.ch/news/news-foto/star.pdf

Wim
(Willson 3100 RZ-4 still on order)

oedipoes wrote:There is a new smaller Eb being presented in Frankfurt.
Check that one out too, might be worth waiting.

Other than the lousy 5th slide setup (what if I'm playing in A or such and want to tune the 5th for 523?), I'm digging it!

bububassboner wrote:Hello all,
Has anyone played both the Willson Eb and F tubas? How do they compare to each other? Also how much of a difference is there in the two's leadpipe angles? I have spent time on the Eb but haven't had the chance to honk the F. Do the two play alike or are they different beasts?

Thanks in advance

Yes, I've played them both, if you're talking about the 3400 Eb and the 3200 F. The F models have changed now (3200XL and 3200XS), and they've added a small Eb, as Wim said. As far as the original 3400 and 3200 compare, they are both really great horns. Immaculately constructed, they play superbly. I did not notice any difference in the leadpipe angles. What I did notice, however, was that the 3400 Eb did tend to "whiz" all over itself and me when I turned the bell downward, which the 3200 F did not do. Perhaps the difference is that the F is housebroken?

Very (very) good new Eb "small" tuba !!!
Tuning,ergonomy,sound
Michel

If anyone should care, here are some specs on the new small Willson Eb:

Bore sizes:
1.-3. valves                18.0 mm
4. valve                      19.0 mm
5. valve ROTAX           19.5 mm
 
Height                         820 mm
Diameter bell              425 mm

Would like to try one, expect it's nice and punchy...
MP 

They are very similar to each other. I haven't tried the new models of the F tuba, so I don't know how much was changed. A few years ago I got to try out several of the Willson tubas at the factory. Both the F and the E flat played very well. There wasn't much difference in the size of the instruments that I could tell. I did notice a difference in the leadpipe. One of them stuck out further than the other, but I don't remember which was which now. The F seemed a little bit easier to blow to me. The e flat seemed to have a little bit deeper sound. I was amazed at how well all the tubas played that I tried. I bought the 3200 F with pistons soon after that and have been enjoying it ever since.