NABBA 2016

[Dan Schultz]

I am pleased to report that River Brass (the brass band I play with) from Newburgh, Indiana placed 3rd out of six bands in the 2nd section at the North American Brass Band Association competition in Fort Wayne, Indiana over the weekend.

[bisontuba]

Congratulations!!

[Davidus1]

Congrats Dan! I'm sure your band put a lot of work into getting ready. What a great experience!

[Jess Haney]

I am pleased to announce the Pike Peak Brass Band took first place in the first section this year.

[bisontuba]

I am pleased to announce the Pike Peak Brass Band took first place in the first section this year.

Congratulations.

[Dan Schultz]

I am pleased to announce the Pike Peak Brass Band took first place in the first section this year.

You did good! Congrats.

[TheGoyWonder]

Madison Brass Band refused to lose in 1st section! Hats off to Pike's Peak, I'd be flattered if we're in remotely the same league.

Gorgeous venue, but on the loud side. Actually preferred the special room for 1st section which had more of a recording studio vibe.
To me Atlantic Brass Band gave the two most moving performances, but Fountain City certainly earned their championship.

[GC]

That would be next year, I believe.

[Dan Schultz]

That would be next year, I believe.

Yeah... I just changed it. Got my fingers mixed up again. Duh!

[scottw]

Where can I get the results? Specifically the championship bracket? I googled, but no results were listed last night.

[aqualung]

I have the complete summary sheet, scores from all the judges for all the bands. It is in PDF form, how can I post it here? (Photobucket doesn't accommodate PDFs)

[MSchott]

Madison Brass Band refused to lose in 1st section! Hats off to Pike's Peak, I'd be flattered if we're in remotely the same league.

Gorgeous venue, but on the loud side. Actually preferred the special room for 1st section which had more of a recording studio vibe.
To me Atlantic Brass Band gave the two most moving performances, but Fountain City certainly earned their championship.

Interesting. I played in a 1st section band on that stage and it was a very sterile experience. It was hard to hear across the band.

[TheGoyWonder]

Interesting. I played in a 1st section band on that stage and it was a very sterile experience. It was hard to hear across the band.

Oh yeah, playing up there was weird especially for people on the ends. Trombonists complained.

[jffenton]

You can see the full results with a nice summary of NABBA 2016 also at "4 Bars Rest" http://4barsrest.com/news/detail.asp?id ... wXGGBMrLoz" target="_blank

[Jess Haney]

There was plenty of great talent all around. The Championship section was great. Hard to pick out any flaws in any performance as they were minor. The Weston Silver Band as well as Dublin had great performances as well as many other bands in the first section. Anyone have thoughts on the horns at the vendors. I definitely have my own views.

[bisontuba]

There was plenty of great talent all around. The Championship section was great. Hard to pick out any flaws in any performance as they were minor. The Weston Silver Band as well as Dublin had great performances as well as many other bands in the first section. Anyone have thoughts on the horns at the vendors. I definitely have my own views.

So which horns at the vendors at NABBA did you like/not like?

[Adam C.]

I liked two of the tubas there: the Wessex Gnagey front action and the Yamaha Neo Eb.

The Gnagey had a nice even sound and feel, intonation was good up and down, though for me it was coming in at 440 with the main slide pushed all the way in. The mouthpiece I was using was a Parker-Hitz. The layout of the horn is different - I'm not used to 1st valve slide being on the far left but that's a minor thing. Valve position also didn't bother me once I had my bearings. The horn reminded me of a MW 2141 but with a more interesting sound and better intonation (not many 5 valve Eb's so I guess that's the obvious comparison)

The Yamaha Neo might have been the best 3+1 Eb I've played. Super even sound and response, it really felt great. Maybe a tad leaner sound than a Besson Sovereign, but no complaints there. Low register seemed to blow more freely than other comps. Really nice.

[Jess Haney]

There was plenty of great talent all around. The Championship section was great. Hard to pick out any flaws in any performance as they were minor. The Weston Silver Band as well as Dublin had great performances as well as many other bands in the first section. Anyone have thoughts on the horns at the vendors. I definitely have my own views.

So which horns at the vendors at NABBA did you like/not like?

the Neo BBb was quite nice. We had a Besson 994 for comparison and the two horns are very different. The Neo is lighter in both weight and sound, and much more playful. The 4th was very comfortable as well as the overall feel of the horn. The Willson BBb was also a hit but I already own it. The Sterling had valve threading issues and was not as clean a horn as the Neo. It had a great middle register sound but it was not as even as the Neo. The lower fegister was very "stuffy" in comparison. I was not a fan of the Wessex excelcior BBb. The leadpipe is way too long and makes the horn wildly unstable and hard to navigate. It was however comfortable due to the compact size. The Gnagey Eb is great and a steal of a horn for the money.