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Hey all,

I'm curious to hear about people's experiences playing either the 4/4 or 5/4 Rudy F tubas. How do you find they compare with the bass tubas of other manufacturers like Meinl Weston and Yamaha? Do they suffer from the low range issues that other German rotary tubas experience? In what playing situations have you used them?

If anyone is looking to sell a Rudy F horn with six valves, please PM me. (I'm aware that there's currently a horn on the For Sale section, but it's on hold.)

Thanks!

Will do! Thanks, Bloke!

I think Tubabike was selling his. Originally belonged to Rex Martin.

Thanks, Chronolith. That's the posting I refer to in my original submission above.

Ah ok. You might want to reach out to Beth Wiese also. She was kind enough to sit in with me for Symphonie Fantastique a few years ago and she played a Rudy F. She is an amazing player.

Beth's Rudi F is a one-off four piston, one rotor instrument that Lee Stofer had assembled in 2006 at the factory. It began life as a different instrument and became an incredible horn. Lee has all the details that I've forgotten.

I learned to play rotary F tuba on a six-valve Rudi and I loved the sound so much that I ordered mine in 2001. My instrument is a 5/4 with a gold brass body and yellow brass valveset. It has five right-hand valves and a second valve kicker like my 4/4 CC. It is not a plug and play horn as I must maintain a good practice regimen to sound decent. If I don't, bad habits creep in and I try to force things and make it play like a different.

My view on bass tuba is that one must first embrace the sound concept they desire and find the instrument that enables that sound to be achieved. Constantly fighting the horn to make a square peg fit a round hole is discouraging. The low C, and its surrounding pitches, are not the only notes that a bass tuba plays. One must learn to navigate the whole range and normalize sound quality and dynamic consistency throughout. That obviously comes with lots of practice and matching the player and horn with the proper mouthpiece.

I previously owned an early YFB-621S and sold it because my large hands were having problems with ergonomics. Once the Rudi came available to me, I put the Yamaha down and sold it within months. Its sound was superior and what I was searching for.

I've had the chance to spend a good hour with a 5/4 Rudy F about a month ago owned by my professor, and previously owned by Rex Martin. This particular one had a 4+2 setup with duel kickers. It has an incredibly rich, singing tone that I haven't heard on other Fs I've tried (B&S/Meinl Weston) and is my ideal sound for a bass tuba. The only issue I had was left hand valves and kicker were giving me a little bit of wrist pain.

Thinking about my 4/4, amazing sound, manageable intonation if you have the right mouthpiece (Breslmair F3 seems to be the best fit I've found), just about the most German of German F tubas. Response (while still maintaining a somewhat stuffy low C) on mine seems to be more even in all the ranges than other rotor F tubas I've tried. I had mine converted to 5+1 and it functions darn well.

Overall, the 4/4 Rudy is a wonderful instrument in the hands of the right player. They are rare as well, for sure.

If you ever happen to be in Boston you are welcome to trial mine.

Not really an F player, but did toot on a rotary Rudi F years ago at a WWBW booth. I don't remember the specs but it was rotary and had at least 5 valves and was brand new. I thought it played very well, with a better low register than the other rotary F tubas, yet still retained that rotary German F sound many want. I think it was about $6k new at the time (about 16+ years ago). Guessing that model (now) would probably be double that amount

Thank you so much for your replies, everyone. Sounds like Rudy F horns are very special if you find a good one.

I briefly had a Rudy Meinl 4/4 F tuba for a few days. It's without doubt the best F tuba I've ever played.

-The sound was second to none. Rich, dark and open.
-Exellent intonation.
-Easy low register.
-Free Blowing and very easy to articulate.