Willson 3050RZ 5/4 rotary CC: $7500 -- Sold
Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 4:32 pm
Hey everyone,
Time to sell my AWESOME Willson 3050-RZ, to make room for another awesome tuba. This tuba is GREAT, and if you need a large CC tuba for large ensembles... it should make you very happy. I would have loved to have a tuba like this in college!
Here is a photo of it... much more available by email, and I can send anything specific you want to see.
Basic overview:
The entire range of the tuba speaks clearly and sounds full. No funky response for certain notes. Low register is seismic -- clear, full, and easy to play with the fingerings you would expect.
One thing that sets this tuba apart for me is the projection -- the sound gets out front in a hurry. Some people feel like the physical weight of Willson tubas leads to a lack of responsiveness and feedback to the player. I think there is a small difference in "feel," yes, but it's very minor, and at the benefit of projection. (By contrast, I have played some thin-metal Cerveny tubas, where things resonated so much, I wondered how much energy was actually leaving the bell of the tuba.) IMO, anything "different" about the Willson seems easily resolved during the first hour or two of owning a new tuba (the whole "when I do this, it sounds like that" concept).
I've done some work and put a fair amount of $,$$$ into upgrading this tuba over the last few years:
My price for everything is $7,500.
The tuba is located in Minneapolis, for local pickup. I truly don't think that I could stomach shipping this tuba!
PM for more information!
Time to sell my AWESOME Willson 3050-RZ, to make room for another awesome tuba. This tuba is GREAT, and if you need a large CC tuba for large ensembles... it should make you very happy. I would have loved to have a tuba like this in college!
Here is a photo of it... much more available by email, and I can send anything specific you want to see.
Basic overview:
- Large 5/4 CC tuba
- 5 rotary valves (left-hand fifth)
- 19.68" bell diameter
- 0.768" bore
- 37" height
- Weighs about 25 pounds.
- ^Heavy, yes, but the build quality is exceptional.
- Built in 2000, was previously owned and used professionally
- Excellent condition. One small fingernail sized ding on a large branch, and a small amount of wear to the silver from a previous owner, who had moved the (now-replaced) linkages to the left hand.
- Very little "wear" and only a few tiny, tiny marks. Again, exceptional build quality and professional ownership.
The entire range of the tuba speaks clearly and sounds full. No funky response for certain notes. Low register is seismic -- clear, full, and easy to play with the fingerings you would expect.
One thing that sets this tuba apart for me is the projection -- the sound gets out front in a hurry. Some people feel like the physical weight of Willson tubas leads to a lack of responsiveness and feedback to the player. I think there is a small difference in "feel," yes, but it's very minor, and at the benefit of projection. (By contrast, I have played some thin-metal Cerveny tubas, where things resonated so much, I wondered how much energy was actually leaving the bell of the tuba.) IMO, anything "different" about the Willson seems easily resolved during the first hour or two of owning a new tuba (the whole "when I do this, it sounds like that" concept).
I've done some work and put a fair amount of $,$$$ into upgrading this tuba over the last few years:
- New valve linkages installed in 2017. I ordered brand new parts from Willson in Switzerland, and had them installed locally. Everything is new from the stop arms through the paddles. Parts + installation cost me around $1000. You can have the box of old parts, too.
- Prior to ordering the new linkages, I had a new 5th valve "paddle" fabricated by a local repairman. It works just fine, but the fifth valve paddle and linkage are not stock parts. The brand-new Willson parts are still sitting in the box, and will be sent to the new owner, who can choose whether to have them installed.
- Rotax valve conversion done in Spring 2018 by Martin Wilk. (Details here: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=86633&p=649541" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank) The Rotax valves have extra metal which is intended to give a "full geometric volume" of air through the valve. In reality, the tuba played great, but the valves were a little heavy. Martin is the valve expert, and he knew just what to do... cutting away the extra metal from the valves, they now are the usual C-shaped valve. This reduced the mass and made the valves faster and lighter. It also seems to have improved the already-great response and "blow" of the tuba, which weren't even problematic before. Everything works great now! This work cost me about $500.
- A previous owner installed a Dillon AGR. I have the original Willson receiver, and will send that to the buyer as well (plus both AGR bits)
- In Fall 2015, I bought a new Götz gig bag for this tuba. Gotz bags are high-end top-loading bags made in Germany, custom-sized for the tuba. It is in excellent condition. This cost around $450.
My price for everything is $7,500.
The tuba is located in Minneapolis, for local pickup. I truly don't think that I could stomach shipping this tuba!
PM for more information!
