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I don't know if there's a right answer to this so here's MY answer:New horns are just like new cars. At first there's the "ooooh" and "aaahhhhh" but after a while they just become cars. These tubas, although great, just become tubas. Does that make sense? Clear as mud right....





Ralph

It would be difficult to hold a tuba without the left arm. Chopping off a leg may be more beneficial to your playing career.

People like things because they are new.

-Eric

Fads come and go. Some horns have lasted though. To name a few. B&S PT-10, Meinl Weston 2145 2155 2165, Rudy Meinl 4/4 and 5/4 CC, Willson F, Hirsbrunner HB-12, Yamaha 621 and 822 F's, Meinl Weston 45slp, etc.
Fad horns which may indeed be good horns to me are things like the Getzen G50, Willson Eb, Besson 983 Eb, Kurath 5/4 F, Meinl Weston 2155 rotary CC, Miraphone 1291, Gronitz anything.

There is also fad equipment like tone rings for mouthpieces, stainless steel mouthpieces, tuba stands, etc.

Fad equipment comes and goes. Some of today's fads might end up as tommorrow's mainstream equipment choices. Who knows?

yeah,but the g50 sure seems to be holding alot of value in the used market. i would think this would keep it out of the fad column...

I think it should be brought to attention that many of these "fad" instruments have been developed for specific players in those players attempts to find the right equipment for their job in a particular performance space. The initial rush of sales may be partly attributed to overall respect for the player involved in the design, or if that model had been used successfully in any recent auditions. Manufacturers must be credited with actively working with current professionals to produce quality, relevant tools for many different players (which may also benefit their bottom line). While many older models still play great (MW Bell model, Alex 163, Miraphone 186, etc.) the current crop of professional instruments offer today's player an amazingly refined palette of choices to fit anyone's personal tastes and job requirements. Example: between VMI, B&S, and MW a count over 10 different model F-tubas with the same bell, most designed for particular players.

I see the two top topics on the board.

Good horn? Trend? Fad?
viewtopic.php?t=7964

and

How to tell a player to tune up?
viewtopic.php?t=7887

Methinks that in reality, they are related.

cjk wrote:I see the two top topics on the board.

Good horn? Trend? Fad?
viewtopic.php?t=7964

and

How to tell a player to tune up?
viewtopic.php?t=7887

Methinks that in reality, they are related.

I started the second topic, tune up?, and I don't see the relationship. Just for the record, the player in question in my thread plays an old 3 valve Reynolds bell front tuba. Not exactly a "fad" horn, or an exceptionally "good" horn.

My point was lousy pitch and fad often go hand in hand.

Instruments with reasonable scales stay popular.

MellowSmokeMan wrote:It would be difficult to hold a tuba without the left arm. Chopping off a leg may be more beneficial to your playing career.

Hmmm. Arm. Leg. Both have three letters, and he DID type three letters, didn't he? I just WONDER what OTHER three letter word he could possibly have meant.

MA, who would not like to chop off any three-or-other-letter-count bodily part for any reason, and who really should wrap it up and go to damn rehearsal before she types herself into a corner

On a more serious note I don't see horn fads that are quite as intense as the tuba fads appear to be. The latest horn "fad" is triple horns, and I think they are here to stay. People who own them have a better tool to use for the high register, and are more likely to win auditions if the committee is listening for cracked notes. There are several makers who sell triples now, of varying quality. Some custom horn makers have a sereral-years-long waiting list. Really. And those horns are not cheap.

Many high horn players in regional orchestras still use doubles, and some of the top level high horn players in major orchestras do too, but many are oozing towards the triple because after the year or so to get used to it, it is just easier to play.

Of course many amateurs also own triples, which helps their playing and also helps the custom makers stay in business.

MA

In response to the first question....I LOVE the FAFNER!!!! As A B flat boy this horn just rocks. I will admit that I have always felt better playing MW horns. It is probably all psychological, but I'll go with it. The only problem I have had with this horn, and I know a lot of us B flaters found ourselves here: The horn really became available the same time the Euro took off. If I could have bought one at the original prices I saw in 2000-01, send it home. But the exchange rate pretty much kept me in the used market.

I have a savings account though!

As far as tuba stands go, I don't put my trombone on the ground, why should I put my tuba there?

MaryAnn wrote:Hmmm. Arm. Leg. Both have three letters, and he DID type three letters, didn't he? I just WONDER what OTHER three letter word he could possibly have meant.

Good to know I wasn't the only one wondering about that -- it was starting to drive me ... well ... um ... "crazy" (yeah, that'll work!).

Again, those OLD DESIGN "tall" East German rotary BBb's ("cheap" Alex knock-offs) play like a million bucks...



My high school had one, and it played horribly due to the cheap brass it was made of. granted it was a little dented up however, i prefered the schools fiberglass sousaphone to it.

bloke wrote:

My high school had one, and it played horribly due to the cheap brass it was made of. granted it was a little dented up however, i prefered the schools fiberglass sousaphone to it.

Maybe your local music store could replace the cheap brass parts with fibreglass. Making perfect copies of those dents in the fibreglass, though...That would be quite a trick.

Might be able to make RTV molds off the brass parts, do wax castings and lay-up the fiberglass over those ...