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just wondering what you guys think about the 2040/5 or 2040 for that matter....


how would you compare it to a besson 983 or wilson 3400?

and when are they gonna release the baadsvik hoen?

yes but we have people here on the board over seas... and i know dillons has one...i think...i played it at the army conference... i loved it!!

Hi,
I've heard that the 2040 is awesome, but it needs a 5th for intonation and I bet that any of the major tuba outlets could order one for you. (ie. Dillon, Baltimore Brass Brasswind etc..). I've been spying the 2141 (4 piston 1 rotar) and I'm thinking about picking one up.
Bill Pritchard
COMING SOON
APRIL 12TH 2005

I like the 2040 quite a bit. I've played two different rotary versions (includeing the one at Dillons) and they both played very easily. I'd say their sound is a bit richer compared to the Besson 983. Pitch was good, but required alternate fingerings below the A below the staff - typical for a 4-valve horn though.

I was surprised that there were no false tones. I've been played a 3 valved piston horn that has pretty good false tones so I tried them on the MW. They were not there.

While in Germany just last week I played the second 2040 at this shop. They had 8 or so tubas (that I saw) in this little shop

http://www.radermacher-blasinstrumente. ... acher.html

The shop keeper spoke a little English and his repairman new more. I was surprised that they actually had an Eb horn there. It is a used instrument in great shape (valves needed a lube - it probably hadn't been played in a while - this is Germany). I liked it and my wife and I considered buying it, but it would just have been too tricky to transport and not quite in the budget yet. Price was 3500 Euro and including a nice gig bag.

I also played a gold brass 191. My wife was impressed with this too. It absolutely sang around middle C (TU33) Good core down low, but not quite as rich as I like.

Philip "still suffering from jet-lag since has last flight was cancelled and instead of a 1 hr flight arriving at 11PM, took a bus and arrived home at 4:30 PM" Jensen

just so ya'll know... the 2040 has 4 valves and 2040/5 has 5...

There is at least one MW 2040/5 in the US. I bought mine some time back by special order through Dillon's. Mine has the optional gold brass bell and leadpipe. This is a highly responsive tuba with a fantastic low range and fine response up top too.

It has been years since I played a 983, but for my tastes, the MW is more of an all-around tuba than the 983. Perhaps more like the Willson in that way. Unfortunately, my only exposure to the 3400 was in a noisy room at the Army Conference so I can offer no intelligent comparison opinion.

The MW has a much larger sound than the 983. Granted some mouthpiece options can alter the sound of both instruments considerably. For example, I mostly use a Laskey 30Ge to brighten the MW sound for more of a typical basstuba concept. With a deeper mouthpiece, the MW can pass nicely for something larger than a 4/4 CC.

As you might sense, I am big on EEb tubas. Most of my playing is either on my MW or Besson 981. Still, I have no intention of entirely doing without a CC tuba.

My only issues with the MW 2040/5 are ergonomic and easily addressed by a competent repair technician. First, the fifth valve thumb lever was mounted more than an inch too high for my fairly large hands. Bending the lever addressed this well enough for me. Also, the leadpipe is a bit high. For now, I just choose to adjust the lap position, but may remount the leadpipe one day. Basically, the person(s) who assembled this tuba must have been at least 6/4 size. I also chose to lengthen both the inner and outer main slide legs. Matt Walters was kind enough to let me try a factory-made extra long main slide, but I prefer the added slide pull range.

I hope this helps.

Jonathan,

As it has been some time since I played my 981, I just did a bit of a side-by-side refresher session.

Of course, there must be allowance for the variability between instruments of the same model as well as the limits of my abilities. That said, I find that my 2040/5 is more free blowing than my 981. While both tubas handle higher dynamics well, the 2040/5 has no apparent limit. Of course, it has a bit of edge at extreme high dynamics, but never an increase in resistance and not an unacceptable sound. At some hard to describe point, my 981 gives a noticable and unpleasant increase of resistance that clearly limits my ability to put any more air through. The 2040/5 has similar (moderately low) resistance without regard to the speed or volume of air stream. So much for the loud playing. I find that my 2040/5 also responds more consistently and somewhat more readily at softer and moderate dynamic levels.

My 2040/5 has far better intonation than my 981. Again, some may choose to write this off to one model or the other being "mouthpiece sensitive". Despite trying a broad range of mouthpieces, I am convinced that my 2040/5 is better in me to more readily play in tune.

I have no intention of selling both my circa 1985 981 or early B&H Sovereign 982 tuba in the near future. I am still quite fond of that rich "Besson" sound. Also, while I am not currently active in a brass band, many here prefer a consistent look of all 3+1 Besson style tubas. On the other hand, in the US I feel there is significant bias against 3+1 configuration tubas apart from band settings. This was actually my main motivation for seeking a strong EEb tuba that fit the socially acceptable style. I am not such a strong player that I wish to draw excessive attention to my equipment. Of course, I could have simply moved to the UK and used my 981 in most places, but the family is settled so the 2040/5 was a better option.

Please feel free to reply on list or by PM if you have further questions.