Wessex Chicago store

[Mitch]

I would like to post a public thank you to Steve Marcus and the Wessex folks for a great time trying the Wessex tubas recently. I found myself back in the Chicago area and couldn't pass up the opportunity to try them out, as I literally couldn't live much farther from it otherwise (6 miles from the Pacific).

Steve, of course, was a great host.

Who am I? Not really anybody. But once upon a time... I do have a master's in performance from a recognized institution. For perspective, my previous horns included the best-ever HB-2P; a B&S Symphonie, ex-Kaenzig; "Ugly Betty/Sputnik" Martin/Gnagey 6/4 BBb; MW Thor; and a Miraphone Petrushka. The mouthpieces I had with me included a PT-50, an old-style Perantucci 20 (they say the PT-50 is the same...it's not the same), a G&W one-off, a Rudy Meinl RM-9, a Perantucci 19 (F tuba mouthpiece), a Sellmansberger Solo #1, and a Sellmansberger Symphony.

I was really very surprised by the Wessex horns. I tried the Chicago York (a Presence wasn't available), the Wyvern, the Berg, the Prokofiev, the Kaiser, the CC Tornister, and I feel like there were others but can't recall at the moment. I wish I'd had a lot more time, but O'Hare is a nasty mistress, outdone in her ability to induce misery only by United.

Long ago, if anyone asked, I would've said, "Never Chinese. Why would you do that?" But wow. I was impressed. Sure, you could say, "But they're Chinese. When, in history, has anyone roared, "I gotta get me some Chinese tubas!!"? But dang.

The only knock against the York, if I had to come up with one, in the short time I had with it is that I really wanted to try it in a hall. I've always found with larger horns that trying them in a room is difficult. The Martin/Gnagey BBb I had was too much for any room. It would sound quirky, like it had weird tonal nodes happening, but get it in a hall and heads turned. So when I'm next in the market for a 6/4, it would definitely be in the running, and I'd want a chance in a big room to see how it really feels "in the right environment. I liken it to testing a thoroughbred's track time in a corral. I found it VERY responsive, easy to play Bydlo on it or Berlioz excerpts. It felt agile and easy to handle Prokofiev or Mahler or anything. Any mouthpiece I put in it could be a good fit, depending on the job and the color I wanted out of it. I found it easy to tune and adjust. I've found some 6/4 horns feel like they're tremendously laborious to play, that at the mouthpiece it feels like a lot of heavy lifting, and some sound big but play small - it's a 6/4 that feels like it takes 4/4 effort to play, and I'd say the York is in the latter category.

The Wyvern was probably the big surprise. I was really impressed with the clarity, agility, projection, and build quality. The more I played it, the better it felt. I similarly like the Berg and it reminded me A LOT of the B&S F I'd had a long time ago and always regretted selling.

The key point is that these horns really impressed me where the price is concerned. Once upon a time, there was a very clear demarcation between price and quality. When I got my Hirsbrunner in 1985, there weren't tons of good-quality horns out there. There was "wow that's expensive" and "well, it's more affordable," and it seemed to me that the horns went with that when it came to playing them. There were a couple top-tier brands, and everything else was less, and the first ten seconds you spent on the different horns you could feel and hear the difference abundantly. The lines are definitely blurred now. With some of the comparisons I've read, the horns get dinged in comparison to really expensive brands for only slight differences. I would liken it to someone saying, "Did you hear his Rachmaninoff? It would pale when put next to Horowitz," to which the answer is, "Yes, but HE'S EIGHT." It was clear that these are no longer the Chinese instruments of old, and while there may be some differences (I don't actually want to use the word "shortcomings" because I don't see them that way) compared with horns that are wildly more expensive, the differences are entirely minimal when considering the gargantuan difference in price. Were I counseling a high school student looking to get their first "real tuba," I would encourage them strongly to consider the Wyvern. When you're looking at a horn that's under $6000 that plays really similarly to one that's $16,000, the $6000 one is a no-brainer for any family looking to get their kid into a good-playing instrument without going broke. I had to ask myself, "What extra whatever do I get for that $10,000 more?" And I decided that either the other horn should be like $7900 or the Wyvern should be $14,000, that the difference between the two was a helluva lot smaller than the prices should be apart. Given that, the Wyvern seems like a steal.

I've not had an opportunity to try the Eastman 6/4 York. I'm eager to, as a couple friends who have them are very happy with what they're experiencing with them. If nothing else, I like the competition in the marketplace. The prices of new tubas has gotten darned-near flippin' ridiculous. And the quality of the other imports is really, really catching up. Would I say it's neck-and-neck? Not entirely yet, but the margin is really tight, and it's definitely far closer than is reflected by the price difference. I mean, I've got four kids, and I'm not in a money-is-no-object situation. I know I've gone from "Never Chinese" to "Very possibly Chinese."

Thanks, again, to Steve. It's a great store and good stuff. I wish I'd had another two hours to spare. Definitely worth the trip.

[doddyhop]

Same. You might have saw my post where I tried Wessex as well but lost my temper. Well, that thread became a gladiator arena.

I agree with you on many things in this post. I was surprised as well when I played on those horns.
I tried York, Presence, Wyvern, and Grand. I have been stuck with school horns for a long time and somehow, even the big sluggish Grand, the Wessex horns response felt really well. Many say that York CC and Presence is classified as a BAT, but it looked to me like a Thiccer 5/4 or a 5.5/4. In other terms, the 6/4 CC did not feel like a BAT to me, only the Grand did.

I start to question the general forum's opinion of Wessex horns, or the Tubenet Freak Jury. I remember some said something like "6/4 Yorks are air hogs and produce too dark of a tone". Not really. Yes, took me a little more effort, but not much. It was rather beautiful and had more color than said above. I even heard someone in my state won All State with a Wyvern. The Wyvern feels like a upgrade from my 191. (Side note: I have to agree low notes are great on 191 but the Wyvern when I tried it did just as great or perhaps a little better. Wyvern has more the 191 lacks. Also, 191 is large bore and doesn't fit me well.)

I realize that I have repeated what I said. But seriously, they played pretty darn nice which makes me go to some of other's more ... critical opinions on Tubenet.