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I'm aware of rotary Eb's made by Amati, Cerveny, Miraphone, Meinl-Weston, Rudolf Meinl, Willson, and St. Petersburg. Have I missed any?

I've played two (Miraphone Norwegian Star and St. Petersburg) and was much more impressed by one than the other, but wouldn't buy either one. Any opinions on them or any of the rest?

Haven’t looked for that species at the Hirsbrunner site recently, but they made 4RV Eb tubas in 1990, when I had the good fortune to talk to the current owner. And didn’t Øystein Baadsvik play Hirsbrunner before he went to Miraphone?

One aspect that I found not coming out too clearly during Norwegian Star hype some years ago was about ØB not playing the wider bore Norwegian Star himself. The model made for him is the straight (and leaner) bore Star Light.

Klaus

I believe that ØB did play the Norwegian Star for many years. He started on the Hirsbrunner and switched to Miraphone. He played the Norwegian Star until the Starlight was brought out 4-5 years ago.

The Norwegian Star and the Star Light came out at the same time in 2004 or 2005. ØB somewhere wrote about his need for a very fast response, something he ascribed to the straight bore of the Star Light.

Klaus

Fwiw, the St Pete I played at Midwest was phenomenal! Good pitch, excellent low register, quick silent valves, consistent sound, and it blew almost like a piston horn. The valve slides felt a bit loose but maybe they just needed some grease.

I played one of the earlier St. Petes a few years back, and it felt like a toy. Tiny, soft valve spatulas, teensy sound, though the tone, intonation, and response were pretty good. I was just starting on Eb back then, and my opinion of them was probably colored by my lack of competence. I'd like to try some of the more recent ones since everyone I've heard from lately seems to like them.

I've also always wanted to try the rotary Willsons and the two Meinl-Weston Eb's. I doubt I'll ever be lucky enough to encounter a Rudy. Maybe someday.

I previously to owned two different Meinl-Weston 2040/5 rotary Eb at different times. Both played very well with lovely tone and intonation - except I found the E above the staff on both difficult to pitch with whatever fingering I tried, to the extent that I was known to use PT-20 CC for pieces with entry on high E, rather than risk on the Eb tuba - rather a shame on an otherwise great bass tuba. The other thing I did not like was the ergonomics - the valves seemed rather high making the horn top heavy - I had to always play using stand.

I have had short try at the factory on the Rudolf Meinl rotary Eb's - there are two different versions, 3/4 and 4/4. First impressions were very nice. More F tuba sounding and looking than the the Meinl-Weston and with definitely better ergonomics. I did not sit down with tuner on them, but nothing stood out as wrong. Unusually the 5th valve by default is operated by the left hand, although I was told that they would make with thumb operated valve to order.

B&S made some very decent ones at one time.

imperialbari wrote:The Norwegian Star and the Star Light came out at the same time in 2004 or 2005. ØB somewhere wrote about his need for a very fast response, something he ascribed to the straight bore of the Star Light.

Klaus

Didn't he switch to the Startlight fairly recently? His first albums were on the Norwegian Star and I saw him on tour as early as 2004 and as late as 2008 playing that horn. I don't see him every year but try to keep up with what he's doing. The first time I saw him with the Starlight must have been 2010 and he was talking about it as if it was a recent switch.

supposedly there are even some Gronitz rotary Ebs floating around. CIOMIT in Castle Rock Colorado had one in for a cleaning a few years ago from a DU student. supposedly it was an awesome rotary Eb from what the technition said.

Here's an Rudi 5/4 Eb in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibrlt1Ttmkk" target="_blank

GC wrote:I've played two (Miraphone Norwegian Star and St. Petersburg) and was much more impressed by one than the other, but wouldn't buy either one.

I am curious as to why you wouldn't buy either one? In other words, what would you be looking for in the rotary valve Eb? How does your Avatar play?

For "tank". I notice you have the Willson FA5. The website says it was designed by Marty. Do you know if it is a new version of the 3400 Eflat or a different tuba altogether?

Michael Grant wrote:

GC wrote:I've played two (Miraphone Norwegian Star and St. Petersburg) and was much more impressed by one than the other, but wouldn't buy either one.

I am curious as to why you wouldn't buy either one? In other words, what would you be looking for in the rotary valve Eb? How does your Avatar play?

I mostly liked the Norwegian Star. The only issue I had with it was a big one: playing the low Bb and A felt like playing a wonky low C and B on an F tuba. Otherwise it was an excellent horn, but if I buy a new horn, I don't want to fight a problem that really doesn't exist as such on modern piston horns.

As for the St. Pete, it was a small horn with a small sound. The tone, intonation, and response were pretty decent, but I prefer the advantages of a large horn, especially as I use my Eb in concert band and need more volume and weight than this horn can put out. The build quality did not feel solid in my hands, too.

It's been a couple of years since I've tried either one, though, and I'd like the opportunity to try them again. Most companies constantly try to improve their offerings, after all.

My avatar horn is 99 years old, and it has some issues. Low B, Bb, and A are wonky (poorly responsive), but the notes on either side of them are fine. F and E in the staff are incredibly flat with the standard fingerings, but strangely the G and Gb directly above them are mostly okay and the Eb in the staff is slightly sharp; alternate fingerings or lipping get me past that. A bit of wonkiness seems to be epidemic in the really old Eb's.

Even so, it has a big, big sound for an Eb, and can almost substitute for a contrabass. I like the old-style Conn tone over any other I've tried. It's an inexpensive alternative to the best of the new horns. I'd like to have a new horn that doesn't have to be fought all the time, but I'm not currently able to fork out the cash required.

Michael Grant wrote:For "tank". I notice you have the Willson FA5. The website says it was designed by Marty. Do you know if it is a new version of the 3400 Eflat or a different tuba altogether?

I have a 1st generation 3400 that came out in the 90's I just picked it up recently and it is my favorite all around horn.