Review of the Danube Eb 5v rotary tuba silver plated
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:56 pm
Wessex/Jinbao Eb tuba
Model: TE495-L or TE495-S Danube
Valves: 5+0 rotary
Bell: 16½” (420mm)
Bore: 0.748″-0.827″ (19-21mm)
Receiver: American shank size
Tuning: 443Hz to 440Hz
(5th valve thumb operated providing flat tone/step)
Gold brass leadpipe
Nickel inner and outer slides
Height: 97cm (38″)
TE495-L gold brass
TE495-S silver plated
Mouthpiece: Yamaha Bobo Solo, Dennis Wick Ultra AT5U (American shank)
First a disclaimer: I am amateur musician, and have played for 35
years trombone (alto, tenor and bass) and euph, before I just one year
ago started playing Eb bass in our 1st division brass band. My
opinions might be colored from my lack of years of tuba experience.
If you are searching for a British style 3+1 compensated 19" bell Eb
bass, don't bother reading on. The Danube is a fine 5v rotary Eb tuba,
but behaves quite differently from a traditional brass band Eb bass.
I had taken the Danube out of the well-constructed foam box (canvas
covered) and directly to brass band rehearsal. After a half hour
getting-used to it, it worked fine for me. Except for the fingerings
of the lowest octave, which is quite different from a 3+1 compensated
setup, but I did learn that fast over the past weeks.
I have a few small observations on the build quality: overall it seems
good. Silver finish looks nice. Some solderings could use a bit
more solder, but the large solderings on the bow protections and bow
assemblies are all fine.
There has been forgotten a 3x4 cm piece of clear tape on the bow of
the instrument, probably a remaining from a plastic cover after silver
plating. I used a mild petrol product to dissolve the glue and take it off.
The tubing is logical and nicely designed, and the tuba drains well
from the spit valve during hours of playing. To get the last drops out
of the 4th valve and the curl near the main tuning slide, one has to
remove the 4th slide and the main tuning slide and turn the tuba one
rotation anti-clockwise. Unfortunately, the spit valve did leak and
needed a replacement cork from the beginning.
Valves are working nice, except 4th valve which did drag upon
delivery. Otherwise, they did work smooth and silent from the
beginning. After a couple of weeks the 2nd and 3rd valve started to
become noisy and are still to noisy for my taste. They probably are in
need of adjustment and re-oiling. Now the 4th valve runs fine. I
really love rotary valves and prefer them over pistons.
All valve slides are too sticky for my taste, I can't manipulate them
with my left hand, this needs to get fixed with extra lapping and
oiling. 5th valve slide looks very long on the pictures, but it has a rather
short pull. I suggest that the next batch is optimized for easy slide
manipulations, as this is needed to play in tune in the low 4th and 5th
valve register.
The main bows are of a softer brass quality than the bell, too soft
for my taste, as I already have picked up 4 small dents in the upper and
lower main bow during normal handling, but the bell is still spotless.
Pitch is fine, I can get the instrument up to 443 Hz when the tuning
slide is full in, and can easily adjust down to 440Hz.
Intonation and partials are in general fine, except for the 5th partial which is
pretty flat in all a valve combinations. In slow passages I have to
play G3 1+2, Gb3 2+3, F3 1+3, E3 2+4 (or 2+3+5) to adjust pitch
up. The octaves 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th partial are general fine, (Eb1
to Eb4), pedals are playing well, but need a bit of lipping down. Top
octave in 8th partials (Eb4 to B3 2+3) are spot on. This is with the
Yamaha Bobo Solo mouthpiece. Using the DW Ultra AT5U (which has a
larger cup), intonation and partials suffer a bit, the high register
is getting too low, but the bottom rocks.
The lower 4th and 5th valve combinations do respond and sound well
down to A1 (spot on with 2+3+5), Ab1 (spot on with 4+5) and G1 (slightly low with 2+3+4
(now corrected from typo 3+4+5), but Gb1 to E1 are tricky, require much
lipping, and have therefore worse response and somewhat dull tonal
quality. Here a well-functioning easy slide manipulation on 4th and
5th slide, or a trigger on each, would have helped a lot.
Sound has a nice core to it in middle and low range, and the tuba
blows easy and with good response. I can even effortless play a true
pianissimo all over the range, that is great news, and I can produce a
broad and powerfull fff.
But I think the Danube is lacking a bit of singing tonal quality in the high
range, there I would have liked more brightness and clarity in the sound.
The Danube is large and powerfull enough to fill the upper Eb bass
part I am playing, and blends fine with the Yamaha Eb, the Yamha Bb
and the Sovereign Bb in use in our brass band (all 3+1 compensated).
Personally I would have preferred a slightly slimmer Eb tuba, with
clearer sound and a bit more bite and core in the higher range. I
prefer playing the Danube with the Roger Bobo mouthpiece, but my brass band
conductor likes the DW Ultra sound, so it's up to me to get used to
the Danube and make the best out of it in Brass Band settings.
The Danube is definitely an improvement over my old Besson 3+1
compensated Eb bass, and I did try 8 other used and new Eb and F tubas
before choosing this one.
It was not the best instrument I tried, but the best instrument for
the amount of money I was willing to spend.
Others I liked really much where the Miraphone Electra F, and the
Besson Sovereign 17" bell Eb, but these where new and at a higher price, so I
passed. I would have loved to try a Miraphone Eb Nordic Star, and
compare the Danube to it, but there was none on the used market or on
shelf near Copenhagen.
I believe that there are better and more costly Eb tubas to be found,
on the other hand I am pretty sure I could not have found a better Eb
tuba - used or new - for the money I was willing to spend.
Overall, I am pretty happy with my Danube, I think the musical
qualities are fine, but I wish there would be more attention to the
mechanical details, and I wish it was a bit slimmer and more singing
in the high register.
I am a happy man and brass band is now much more fun than with my old Besson.
Model: TE495-L or TE495-S Danube
Valves: 5+0 rotary
Bell: 16½” (420mm)
Bore: 0.748″-0.827″ (19-21mm)
Receiver: American shank size
Tuning: 443Hz to 440Hz
(5th valve thumb operated providing flat tone/step)
Gold brass leadpipe
Nickel inner and outer slides
Height: 97cm (38″)
TE495-L gold brass
TE495-S silver plated
Mouthpiece: Yamaha Bobo Solo, Dennis Wick Ultra AT5U (American shank)
First a disclaimer: I am amateur musician, and have played for 35
years trombone (alto, tenor and bass) and euph, before I just one year
ago started playing Eb bass in our 1st division brass band. My
opinions might be colored from my lack of years of tuba experience.
If you are searching for a British style 3+1 compensated 19" bell Eb
bass, don't bother reading on. The Danube is a fine 5v rotary Eb tuba,
but behaves quite differently from a traditional brass band Eb bass.
I had taken the Danube out of the well-constructed foam box (canvas
covered) and directly to brass band rehearsal. After a half hour
getting-used to it, it worked fine for me. Except for the fingerings
of the lowest octave, which is quite different from a 3+1 compensated
setup, but I did learn that fast over the past weeks.
I have a few small observations on the build quality: overall it seems
good. Silver finish looks nice. Some solderings could use a bit
more solder, but the large solderings on the bow protections and bow
assemblies are all fine.
There has been forgotten a 3x4 cm piece of clear tape on the bow of
the instrument, probably a remaining from a plastic cover after silver
plating. I used a mild petrol product to dissolve the glue and take it off.
The tubing is logical and nicely designed, and the tuba drains well
from the spit valve during hours of playing. To get the last drops out
of the 4th valve and the curl near the main tuning slide, one has to
remove the 4th slide and the main tuning slide and turn the tuba one
rotation anti-clockwise. Unfortunately, the spit valve did leak and
needed a replacement cork from the beginning.
Valves are working nice, except 4th valve which did drag upon
delivery. Otherwise, they did work smooth and silent from the
beginning. After a couple of weeks the 2nd and 3rd valve started to
become noisy and are still to noisy for my taste. They probably are in
need of adjustment and re-oiling. Now the 4th valve runs fine. I
really love rotary valves and prefer them over pistons.
All valve slides are too sticky for my taste, I can't manipulate them
with my left hand, this needs to get fixed with extra lapping and
oiling. 5th valve slide looks very long on the pictures, but it has a rather
short pull. I suggest that the next batch is optimized for easy slide
manipulations, as this is needed to play in tune in the low 4th and 5th
valve register.
The main bows are of a softer brass quality than the bell, too soft
for my taste, as I already have picked up 4 small dents in the upper and
lower main bow during normal handling, but the bell is still spotless.
Pitch is fine, I can get the instrument up to 443 Hz when the tuning
slide is full in, and can easily adjust down to 440Hz.
Intonation and partials are in general fine, except for the 5th partial which is
pretty flat in all a valve combinations. In slow passages I have to
play G3 1+2, Gb3 2+3, F3 1+3, E3 2+4 (or 2+3+5) to adjust pitch
up. The octaves 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th partial are general fine, (Eb1
to Eb4), pedals are playing well, but need a bit of lipping down. Top
octave in 8th partials (Eb4 to B3 2+3) are spot on. This is with the
Yamaha Bobo Solo mouthpiece. Using the DW Ultra AT5U (which has a
larger cup), intonation and partials suffer a bit, the high register
is getting too low, but the bottom rocks.
The lower 4th and 5th valve combinations do respond and sound well
down to A1 (spot on with 2+3+5), Ab1 (spot on with 4+5) and G1 (slightly low with 2+3+4
(now corrected from typo 3+4+5), but Gb1 to E1 are tricky, require much
lipping, and have therefore worse response and somewhat dull tonal
quality. Here a well-functioning easy slide manipulation on 4th and
5th slide, or a trigger on each, would have helped a lot.
Sound has a nice core to it in middle and low range, and the tuba
blows easy and with good response. I can even effortless play a true
pianissimo all over the range, that is great news, and I can produce a
broad and powerfull fff.
But I think the Danube is lacking a bit of singing tonal quality in the high
range, there I would have liked more brightness and clarity in the sound.
The Danube is large and powerfull enough to fill the upper Eb bass
part I am playing, and blends fine with the Yamaha Eb, the Yamha Bb
and the Sovereign Bb in use in our brass band (all 3+1 compensated).
Personally I would have preferred a slightly slimmer Eb tuba, with
clearer sound and a bit more bite and core in the higher range. I
prefer playing the Danube with the Roger Bobo mouthpiece, but my brass band
conductor likes the DW Ultra sound, so it's up to me to get used to
the Danube and make the best out of it in Brass Band settings.
The Danube is definitely an improvement over my old Besson 3+1
compensated Eb bass, and I did try 8 other used and new Eb and F tubas
before choosing this one.
It was not the best instrument I tried, but the best instrument for
the amount of money I was willing to spend.
Others I liked really much where the Miraphone Electra F, and the
Besson Sovereign 17" bell Eb, but these where new and at a higher price, so I
passed. I would have loved to try a Miraphone Eb Nordic Star, and
compare the Danube to it, but there was none on the used market or on
shelf near Copenhagen.
I believe that there are better and more costly Eb tubas to be found,
on the other hand I am pretty sure I could not have found a better Eb
tuba - used or new - for the money I was willing to spend.
Overall, I am pretty happy with my Danube, I think the musical
qualities are fine, but I wish there would be more attention to the
mechanical details, and I wish it was a bit slimmer and more singing
in the high register.
I am a happy man and brass band is now much more fun than with my old Besson.