Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

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Wyvern
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by Wyvern »

bloke wrote: ...so what percentage are you packing up and sending back? :|
We are not sending any back, as most are sorted while we are at factory and those that have something more major that can't be fixed relatively quickly are rejected...and stay at factory
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by mwlorrison893 »

ken k wrote:Dillon had a custom Conn MOnster with Meinl Weston/MAW valves done by Martin Wilk.

it was easy to play but very heavy. and not a bad price.

http://www.dillonmusic.com/p-25316-conn ... m-bbb.aspx" target="_blank" target="_blank

kk

I just purchased this horn today. I play a Conn 25J and love it so when i picked up this horn I fell in love with the sound and even found it to be very comfortable to play. Each person is different but It felt good in my hands and the sound was incredible. The combination of old and new here has been well worth it!!!!
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by Doug Elliott »

Even with my very limited experience on tuba, I liked the response and sound of that Conn Monster very much. I didn't realize it had MAW valves but it felt great.
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by mwlorrison893 »

Doug Elliott wrote:Even with my very limited experience on tuba, I liked the response and sound of that Conn Monster very much. I didn't realize it had MAW valves but it felt great.
I was creeping on the Dillon Music website before the conference and was wondering if they would have it there. So, the first horn I looked for was the Conn. Loved it! I believe my next purchase eventually will be the B&S PT-6 rotary valve. I found that to be a really nice CC. :tuba:
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by ken k »

mwlorrison893 wrote:
ken k wrote:Dillon had a custom Conn MOnster with Meinl Weston/MAW valves done by Martin Wilk.

it was easy to play but very heavy. and not a bad price.

http://www.dillonmusic.com/p-25316-conn ... m-bbb.aspx" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

kk

I just purchased this horn today. I play a Conn 25J and love it so when i picked up this horn I fell in love with the sound and even found it to be very comfortable to play. Each person is different but It felt good in my hands and the sound was incredible. The combination of old and new here has been well worth it!!!!
congrats...great horn! enjoy!

kk
Yamaha YEB-381
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by mwlorrison893 »

Thank you! I'm chomping at the bit til I get it gets here.
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

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There were a lot of GOOD tubas at the conference this year. For starters:

The Lee-50- I thoroughly enjoyed playing this tuba. The blow and slotting is excellent as well as the size... except for the ergonomics. Even with a tuba stand there is very little a player can do to play this with minimal wrist pain without tilting the horn significantly... at least speaking for myself. My nitpick. A very fine tuba though.

@Wessex- The Berg and the Wyvern and the Luzern. The Luzern impressed me with the quality of linkages. Only one of them was "Clicking". The Danube was nice, but I did not play too any other Eb horns to compare

At BBC- The Rudy 5/4 is really a fine instrument. The intonation, blow... just great. The Ursus they had there was good as well... but I'm going to come back to that...

I'm not an f tuba guy. I'm not well-versed as of yet with the instrument therefore I'm not so eager to try efffff's. I did see an older F tuba there and thought "Well to make me feel better about my Pt-Clone I'll play this guy". I was expecting a stuffy low register and wonky intonation. The first thing that caught me off was that the 5th valve was located directly below the top bow and had to be operated by your left thumb. I had never seen this. The horn itself is the first F tuba I had trouble putting down The low register wasn't the most open thing on earth, but it was do able. Likejustlearntheblowofthehornandyou'llbefinedoable. but the tone was addicting. I loved the sound this horn could make... It was a B&S Symfonie. Really fine instrument. Coming from a guy that doesn't like F's as of yet.


@Dillon- PT4 piston tuba was very good as was the 3450. Nice instruments. The two horns I went back and forth with were the GR41(pt606) and the Ursus. The Ursus is one of the most open tubas I have ever played maybe more so than the BMB brass horns while the 606 has a smidge of resistance. That being said... I like the GR41 more. I have this theory that the most easiest to play tubas have the blandest of sounds with little character and for me... the Ursus has no character. I'm probably in the minority, but I like the GR41 over the Ursus :?

Finally the Bruckner and 1292 at the Miraphone stand. For sometime now I have considered the Bruckner to be the easiest CC rotor tuba to play and the 1292 similar if not close (truly the MW2000 still holds the easiest blow for me) That being said. I still liked the GR41 over all of them.

TLDR V

Verdict- Big horn- Rudy 5/4
4/4 Medium- GR41
F tuba- B&S Symfonie (...Possibly my favorite horn)
Gnagey 4/4

That which is dead can eternal lie and with many strange aeons even tubas will fly
-A Misquote from HP Lovecraft.
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

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Cthuba wrote:I'm not an f tuba guy. I'm not well-versed as of yet with the instrument therefore I'm not so eager to try efffff's. I did see an older F tuba there and thought "Well to make me feel better about my Pt-Clone I'll play this guy". I was expecting a stuffy low register and wonky intonation. The first thing that caught me off was that the 5th valve was located directly below the top bow and had to be operated by your left thumb. I had never seen this. The horn itself is the first F tuba I had trouble putting down The low register wasn't the most open thing on earth, but it was do able. Likejustlearntheblowofthehornandyou'llbefinedoable. but the tone was addicting. I loved the sound this horn could make... It was a B&S Symfonie. Really fine instrument. Coming from a guy that doesn't like F's as of yet.
Formerly mine. It needs a longer 5th-valve slide to work as we expect, but that's all it needs. I replaced it with a 6-valve version that perhaps had very slightly less sweetness to the sound but that was more manageable for me.

Rick "sometimes a little sorry I didn't keep it" Denney
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by bisontuba »

Rick Denney wrote:
Cthuba wrote:I'm not an f tuba guy. I'm not well-versed as of yet with the instrument therefore I'm not so eager to try efffff's. I did see an older F tuba there and thought "Well to make me feel better about my Pt-Clone I'll play this guy". I was expecting a stuffy low register and wonky intonation. The first thing that caught me off was that the 5th valve was located directly below the top bow and had to be operated by your left thumb. I had never seen this. The horn itself is the first F tuba I had trouble putting down The low register wasn't the most open thing on earth, but it was do able. Likejustlearntheblowofthehornandyou'llbefinedoable. but the tone was addicting. I loved the sound this horn could make... It was a B&S Symfonie. Really fine instrument. Coming from a guy that doesn't like F's as of yet.
Formerly mine. It needs a longer 5th-valve slide to work as we expect, but that's all it needs. I replaced it with a 6-valve version that perhaps had very slightly less sweetness to the sound but that was more manageable for me.

Rick "sometimes a little sorry I didn't keep it" Denney
I believe Tom McGrady bought it...
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by Rick Denney »

bisontuba wrote:
Rick Denney wrote:
Cthuba wrote:I'm not an f tuba guy. I'm not well-versed as of yet with the instrument therefore I'm not so eager to try efffff's. I did see an older F tuba there and thought "Well to make me feel better about my Pt-Clone I'll play this guy". I was expecting a stuffy low register and wonky intonation. The first thing that caught me off was that the 5th valve was located directly below the top bow and had to be operated by your left thumb. I had never seen this. The horn itself is the first F tuba I had trouble putting down The low register wasn't the most open thing on earth, but it was do able. Likejustlearntheblowofthehornandyou'llbefinedoable. but the tone was addicting. I loved the sound this horn could make... It was a B&S Symfonie. Really fine instrument. Coming from a guy that doesn't like F's as of yet.
Formerly mine. It needs a longer 5th-valve slide to work as we expect, but that's all it needs. I replaced it with a 6-valve version that perhaps had very slightly less sweetness to the sound but that was more manageable for me.

Rick "sometimes a little sorry I didn't keep it" Denney
I believe Tom McGrady bought it...
He got a good one.

Rick "it's in better hands now" Denney
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

Post by mwlorrison893 »

fsgazda wrote:Just played some Eb's, and my favorite was the Eastman, hands down. Didn't get a chance to try the Kanstul, and was disappointed that Wessex had sold out of the Gnagey before the show.

I didn't play any Euphs this year, but am pretty sure my favorite was the Adams, as usual.
What do you mean Wessex sold out of the Gnagey? Did Sam help with the development of a Wessex tuba? I'm intrigued.
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Re: Army Tuba Conference 2017 favorite horn(s)?

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