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I was able to spend some time in the elephant room and thought I would give some reviews of what I played. My focus was mainly on the larger CC tuba.

MW Thore, Dave Fedderly had a few excellent examples of them, for me was the best value and played great, If I was in the market this is a first choice. If your there you gotta speak to Dave about them. MW also made a mode to the valves from the factory that allows the air to pass though the valve cluster with less resistance. Very nice horn.

MW Tuano, another great horn, but could not get a really good idea because of where is was as hearing above all the other tubas was difficult. I had my friend Tom Gregory hold a tuner near the bell and the intonation was spot on. Again, talk to Dave Fedderly about these.

Played the Dillon 6/4, very impressive, what else can I say. Did not feel any weaknesses within the horn at all especially in the low register. Give them a call if you’re in the market for one of these as you will not be disappointed and the pricing is very reasonable.

Played the Bear model, the only thing I can say is if I had a reason to get one I would as it is easy to play and responds very well in the low register. One of my biggest gripes with 6/4 horns is that they always lacked the punch in the low register. I remember battling this with my 2165, and the HB50 was no different. The Baer model does not have this problem. The other main difference between this and the 6/4 tuba is the sound, the Baer model has a great solid core.

PT 6, this was the first time I played a piston PT 6 that I liked, I always liked the rotor PT6 better but this one responded very well in all registers, even better than the rotor model.

The Gemeinhardt 6/4, this was a disappointment; the valves just kept on sticking so I gave it up pretty fast. Can’t really give a good assessment but it may be a horn worth looking at due to the price. Not sure what was going on with the 5th valve and the rubber band thing, maybe that a cost cutter to keep the price low. The sound did not have the core of the Baer or Thore but again, it was a little difficult to tell in the elephant room. Dick Barth was taking pictures of everyone trying it out and when he came to me I said, "well you may not want my picture".

I did play the new F by Kanstul at Dave’s booth, a little on the small side for me but very easy to play, again, contact Dave for one of these as I so see a place for them.

Tried the PT 6 Clone for a bit, but again, in the room very difficult to evaluate. First impression was there was nothing that stuck out that said "next". Would have like to spend more time on this but could not and the noise level just made it difficult to sit down and focus, by this point it was the last horn I played and needed to get on the road to beat the DC traffic.

I did walk away with a few of the Doug Elliott large and medium euphonium shanks with a shallow tuba cup and wide rim. I got the medium shank (euphonium) with the shallow tuba cup for my Cerveny contra 4 rotor trombone in F and this was a great fit. I also tried this mpc with the large shank and tuba rim on a few of my euphoniums and all I can say is wow, I do like this mpc much better than the bobo tenor tuba mpc. The Bobo tenor tuba mpc has a tendency for dropping the pitch about 15 cents on the euphonium, the Elliott set up did not do this. I also got a small shank with a bass trombone cup and rim, have not had a chance to try it out yet but I am sure it will work well for my purposes

Overall it was frustrating to play most of the tubas due to the amount of sound of others around but it was fun to be there for the day.

I did get a chance to meet and spend a little time with Allen Baer and attend Allen master-class Class, which was great. My wife was bugging me to get a picture but I did not. I know I will be in contact with him later as he inspired me to think about really playing again. All I can say about Allen is that his insight and approach to practicing is so highly detailed, technical and has such a purpose that when the years go on as you get older, you are able to stay interested in the craft. This was something that I lost; I lost interest in playing 12 years ago but maybe that will change now, time permitting. The biggest thing I say to any young players is to think outside the box and make practicing fun. Allen mentioned cross-training, this is so true. Dont just spend your time on playing excerpts, look at them in very small chunks, design your own exercises, and find etudes that help. When you do this, you will have a better understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish. Use the tools available, allen show the drown and drum machine, and how he uses them, great idea. Allen has made practicing a true art. Hats off to him and there is a reason he is plays in the NY Phil.

I greatly appreciate Tom sharing his observations, but wanted to correct one misunderstanding regarding the Thor that he referred to as a "Very Nice Horn".

Although I play MW and have high regard for that factory, these valve improvements did not come from MW. Rather, these were MAW valves from Martin Wilk. I was representing Martin at the conference and Dave was so gracious as to place the valves in one of two lacquered Thors for some interesting comparisons. These valves are manufactured for Martin by Meinlschmidt, one of the most highly regarded valve manufacturers in the world.

In addition to the valves at Dave's booth, I worked with a number of artists who tried sets of MAW valves in a PT6P, that nice handmade Baer, and in other models at Dave's booth. The most interesting results were with the MAW valves in the Sassy model. Dave and the player who tried that were quite shocked by the difference that the valves made.

Martin is really onto something with these valves and it was a pleasure to represent him at the conference.

Joel Bristor wrote: Martin is really onto something with these valves and it was a pleasure to represent him at the conference.

I got a set of MAW Valves for one of my MW2265 tubas. They are well worth the money.

Thanks Tom.

My impressions were also (unfortunately) based on Ponderous Pachyderm polyphony.

All playing was done with a Laskey 30H mp.

1. The BMB 6/4 (Gemeinhardt) tuba was the most promising large tuba I played. Very quick, even response, easy to play in all registers, very good intonation, and a huge, broad tone. It reminded me of the best of the old Holton 6/4 tubas, but was much easier to play. The valves were sticky (and they got worse from Friday to Saturday), but I just hope that's due to being a prototype that's been carted around to conferences for the past couple of months. I hope...

2. I really liked the Baer (I played the one engraved "6450/2") but had small issues with high register (above the staff) intonation, and ergonomics. Just a personal thing I'm sure, but I had to place the horn on the chair to line up my face (guess a stand would work, too). I'm used to holding the horn in my lap where I can make minor adjustments easily regardless of the chair used. And the 5th valve was a LONG way down/away from my thumb. I have very large hands, and I noticed there was not much adjustment left to bring the lever closer.

3. I really wanted to love the Neptune at Dillon's. It was easily the most beautiful horn in the room, with a beautiful golden color and pretty engraving on the bell and valve levers. It had way more resistance than any other horn I tried. Reminded me of how the Melton tubas were made: supposedly the extra resistance was desired by many Europeans. The resistance does make it easy(er) to play low and/or soft, but I just don't like to feel like I'm blowing against the horn instead of through it. It sounded/felt better the louder I blew it, but...

4. Dillon also had a very nice Gronitz PCM. I was able to sit down and immediately feel at home. No issues with response, intonation, or playability. Too bad the thumb ring had lost its locking nut: playing with a rotating thumb ring was interesting, but didn't take away from the overall quality of this instrument.

5. The Tuono and I just didn't get along. This particular horn reminded my of a bad example of an Alexander: some notes sang, other were dull; I struggled with some intonation issues; response varied, often between notes in a similar register/partial. Maybe with some time or a different mouthpiece I could have sorted out my problems...

6. I also played the Gemeinhardt F: love it! Sings in the upper register, great pitch, very even response. This is one of very few small (i.e., F or Eb) tubas that I could use to "do it all".

Greatest regret: I didn't get to play the 6/4 Dillon DCB-1185 CC! Hope to soon...

Greatest new thing: the MAW valve.

I played the two Thors David Fedderly had, one with the stock valves and one with MAW valves installed. I was SHOCKED by the change! Not only did the MAW valve horn blow easier and respond quicker, but even the tone was changed: more punch, more overtones (brilliance), AND more core! This is one of those things that make me think "Why didn't they ALWAYS do it this way?"

And a big thumbs up to Alan Baer. His clinic on orchestral excerpt prep was outstanding! Lots of good ideas I could use, wonderful outside-the-box exercises, presented from a solid foundation in musical expression. I was a better tuba player after listening to his presentation!

Karl "this workshop is a treasure" H.

The only tuba that I left the conference wanting to own was the Big Mouth Brass 6/4 BBb.
Tone, intonation, and response were all magnificent. (Of course this was the elephant room and I didn't bother with a tuner.) At $6,000.00, this is a tuba to be reckoned with.

Used tubas worth mentioning were the Martin Mammoth BBb at Baltimore Brass. I can never say enough about these horns. At $4000.00, best bang for your buck!

Conn Donatelli CC at Lee Stofer's booth. The 3rd partial is flat, but 1-3 works well for that. Very few horns posses the response, presence and beauty of tone that this horn has. This horn was cut by Lee from a BBb and had a Meinl Weston Valve set. I think that the cut job is good. Most of the BBb's of this variety that I have tried, have the same 3rd partial problem. The factory CC's that I've tried, less so.

Also, I had Bloke's washers installed on my Martin 4/4 and love them. Definitely worth the $20.

My 2 Cents FWIW!