MW Bill Bell FS - SOLD
Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2020 10:13 am
Hello everyone!
FS is my MW Bill Bell CC tuba. I have owned this tuba for five years. In that time it has been used fairly infrequently, mostly for the occasional church gig. However I have kept it in solid playing condition. Horn comes with an MTS hard case. Reason for selling: having recently moved back to the CONUS from Hawaii, I have taken possession of a new CC tuba for which I saved during the past few years, and I have no need for both CCs.
Pros: VERY nice sound; blows easily; valves are smooth; classic beautiful German construction
Cons: Low register below low F is a little stuffy; intonation is typical of older vintage tuba, but very manageable
Other: I have found this horn to be particularly mouthpiece sensitive. For the first three years of ownership I was a little disappointed in the horn overall. Then I attended a mouthpiece showcase with Ivan Giddings. After trying several mouthpieces, I plugged in the Diablo and WOW what a difference. The intonation quirks started to disappear, the brilliance in the sound intensified, and best of all the low range opened up like crazy! Had I intended to keep this tuba, I would have bought a Diablo on the spot. From what I recall , the Diablo is a helleberg style mouthpiece, so this seems like the way to go.
FS is my MW Bill Bell CC tuba. I have owned this tuba for five years. In that time it has been used fairly infrequently, mostly for the occasional church gig. However I have kept it in solid playing condition. Horn comes with an MTS hard case. Reason for selling: having recently moved back to the CONUS from Hawaii, I have taken possession of a new CC tuba for which I saved during the past few years, and I have no need for both CCs.
Pros: VERY nice sound; blows easily; valves are smooth; classic beautiful German construction
Cons: Low register below low F is a little stuffy; intonation is typical of older vintage tuba, but very manageable
Other: I have found this horn to be particularly mouthpiece sensitive. For the first three years of ownership I was a little disappointed in the horn overall. Then I attended a mouthpiece showcase with Ivan Giddings. After trying several mouthpieces, I plugged in the Diablo and WOW what a difference. The intonation quirks started to disappear, the brilliance in the sound intensified, and best of all the low range opened up like crazy! Had I intended to keep this tuba, I would have bought a Diablo on the spot. From what I recall , the Diablo is a helleberg style mouthpiece, so this seems like the way to go.