fyi: the Stofer Geib is smaller than the Kanstul, but . .

[barry grrr-ero]

. . just buzzing the two m.p.'s side by side, I hear more fundamental in the buzz on the Stofer. The Kanstul feels, plays and sounds like a 'big' m.p., but the sound is also a tad 'brighter' than what I generally want. I'm going to play the Stofer Geib on the Neptune at my local community band rehearsal tonight.

Barry Guerrero, Santa Cruz (former home to Santa's Village [which was actually near Scotts Valley])

[PaulMaybery]

I find the S-G to my liking in that it does help with producing what might be called a rather dark timbre. Part of this seems to be due to the relatively large cup but also a rather medium to smallish throat. I've been finding, in my situation, that the MPs with the larger throats easily get a much louder sound, but seem to lack the harmonic complexity and the warmth that I enjoy, particulary when practicing. I suppose that say a Monette 94 might have better cutting power in a large orchestra, but for playing a solo passage, the S-G probably would produce a richer sound.
So much of it also depends on how it is paired with the tuba of choice. Someone very wise mentioned to me, rather recently, that it would make sense to find a MP that really works for you, is comfortable and otherwise just perfect, and then, find a tuba that works well with it. We seem to gravitate to a certain tuba for whatever reason, and then spend years looking for the perfect MP. I've recently found, that somewhat like the S-G, the Laskey 30H has similar attributes in timbre and it also sports a relatively smaller throat. Even with the smaller throat, the sound/volume can still be achieved, but it takes some patience to let the MP tell you what it needs. My personal thoughts after 50 years of playing are that these days we seem to have glamourized the large throat MP and the bigger is better trend. It's a complicated process to find what works.

[barry grrr-ero]

Makes sense to me. Thanks.

[barry grrr-ero]

I'm getting great results with the Stofer Geib (Euro) on the rotary Neptune C tuba. The smaller-than-I'm-used-to throat bore keeps the tuba from being an 'air hog', yet the low register rocks like crazy. I get a great sound with plenty of fundamental. The upper mid-range is clearer and better in tune than before. In fact, the entire scale is better using this piece. Instead of it being a big effort to fill this horn (and a huge effort to play soft on it), I now feel like I'm letting the larger bottom bow and bell do the work for me. Keep in mind that I also use the bigger pipe on the Neptune.

The Kanstul Geib is a good piece also, but it's definitely bigger. I think it would be a good match for someone who wants a strong low register on a 4/4 or 5/4 size tuba. I'll be putting the Kanstul piece up for sale soon, but feel to contact me if you're not in a hurry for it.