Any opinion offered about any tuba is personal preference. It simply may not be the horn for you. Its no surprise you and your teacher would feel the same because its likely you are absorbing some his concepts about sound, playability..etc.
That being said....here's my opinion:
The Willson 3050 is one of best CC tubas out there. I has no problem with projection and a thick resonant sound. My only complaint is that the upper register is not as sweet sounding as some other models (ie Perantucci, Hirsbrunner). Its not really any harder to play up there, but it does take some practice to make it sing up high.
I think most people approach the Willson 3050 with the wrong idea about what it should sound like. Its not a York type instrument, even though it looks like one. There's nothing else really like it. The other thing is mouthpiece selection. IMHO people try to use small funnel shaped mouthpieces on this tuba and it ends up sounding whacky and hollow. I think large cup shaped mouthpieces are the way to go. Especially most larger Perantucci models. Though, I have had some sucess with a Laskey 30H and the good ole Conn Helleberg.
This is just my opinion.
Willson: Something missing?
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tubaman5150
- 3 valves
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tubatooter1940
- 6 valves
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poomshanka
- 4 valves
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I just picked up a rotary 3050. Although the outer body's basically the same as the piston version, it is (from all accounts) quite a different animal.
Since I was unfamiliar with the Willsons prior to purchasing this horn, and since almost nobody knows anything about the rotary versions, I solicited input prior to purchasing. The feedback I got pretty much coincided with what folks have posted in response here. The horn is built like a tank, and as such, doesn't feel very "alive" in your hands. By no means do I find it to be completely "dead", but it's quite different from my buddy's Gronitz PCM - a very light, piston horn. Surprisingly, for two horns that might be considered to represent totally different design/build philosophies, they both project in their own way, and the sounds blend *very* nicely.
When playing my rotary 3050 next to a Miraphone 190 CC and a B&S rotary PT-6, everyone seemed to prefer the sound of the Willson. Very dense and powerful, with a solid core to the sound. About the exact opposite of tubby and woofy.
If you're used to playing horns that really light up in your lap, they might take some getting used to. They do project like crazy, though. I've had a conductor comment that for as powerful as the sound can be, it's not at all lacking in clarity or nimbleness.
Of course, the other variables in the equation have a lot to do with it - player, hall, and even the individual horn itself. Mike Thornton told me about trying a piston 3050, which his section-mates described as sounding "round and brown". Might've just been him on the horn, or the hall, or perhaps the axe itself had some problems.
Definitely worth a look, IMHO...
...Dave
Since I was unfamiliar with the Willsons prior to purchasing this horn, and since almost nobody knows anything about the rotary versions, I solicited input prior to purchasing. The feedback I got pretty much coincided with what folks have posted in response here. The horn is built like a tank, and as such, doesn't feel very "alive" in your hands. By no means do I find it to be completely "dead", but it's quite different from my buddy's Gronitz PCM - a very light, piston horn. Surprisingly, for two horns that might be considered to represent totally different design/build philosophies, they both project in their own way, and the sounds blend *very* nicely.
When playing my rotary 3050 next to a Miraphone 190 CC and a B&S rotary PT-6, everyone seemed to prefer the sound of the Willson. Very dense and powerful, with a solid core to the sound. About the exact opposite of tubby and woofy.
If you're used to playing horns that really light up in your lap, they might take some getting used to. They do project like crazy, though. I've had a conductor comment that for as powerful as the sound can be, it's not at all lacking in clarity or nimbleness.
Of course, the other variables in the equation have a lot to do with it - player, hall, and even the individual horn itself. Mike Thornton told me about trying a piston 3050, which his section-mates described as sounding "round and brown". Might've just been him on the horn, or the hall, or perhaps the axe itself had some problems.
Definitely worth a look, IMHO...
...Dave
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Tubadork
- pro musician
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Tubadork
- pro musician
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Chen
- 3 valves
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horto008
- bugler
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I agree with LV completely. The last Willson I experimented with felt like a tank. Maybe the metal is thicker...don't know. The sound was incredibly dark and powerful, even moreso than my PT6, but it did not AT ALL feel that way...I felt like I was playing a muffler. I personally seemed to put a lot more "effort" into playing the Willson versus most other horns, and that is probably more related to the feedback (or lack thereof) from the horn than getting the output or quality of sound I was wanting.