Big Rudy 6/4

[Kevin Miller]

Looks more like a St. Wussyberg compared to the Rudy.
It's the "Girlie-man's" tuba!

[Chuck(G)]

Reminds me a lot of the old Miraphone 190 Kaiser BBb--22" bell, 0.840 bore--big soiund, but horrible intonation. Can we assume that the big Rudy's a lot better?

[imperialbari]

The company page on the large BBb's:

http://212.227.240.153/rudolf-meinl/seite5_2.html

Klaus

[Ivan Giddings]

Matt,

Wow, that is sure a nice looking instrument, but I have to ask how that mouthpiece is working out for you.

I saw one of our mouthpieces in the photo of you standing by the instrument.

Ivan

[Allen]

Matt, either you are only four and a half feet tall, or that's a really big tuba. I'm envious. But, before I decide how much I envy you, could you give us a report on that big Rudy? How is the intonation? Agility? How much air does it take compared to other tubas? Inquiring minds want to know! [Also, how did that rare (and probably not cheap) horn find its way to you?]

Allen Walker

[GC]

How does playing this horn differ from an ordinary-sized tuba?

[cjk]

What are the intonation quirks?

(I would kinda expect the 3rd partial F to be flat and the 6th partial F to be pretty sharp)


Christian

[gwwilk]

Great horn, Matt. I wondered who had ordered the 6/4 silver Rodolf Meinl BBb when I placed my order last winter for the 5/4 Bayreuth BBb. Both of our horns are pictured in front of Lee Stofer's garage just after he received them: http://www.gwwilk.com/tubas As you can see, they are almost identical through the valve assembly, but the 6/4 is about an inch or so taller due to the larger bottom bow. It looks like the factory curved your leadpipe down about an inch in order to give the 6/4 approximately the same playing height as the 5/4.

I, too, have a Bayamo mp and I like it a lot. And oddly enough my other BBb tuba is a St. Pete! The Bayamo makes the St. Pete sound like a completely different instrument, and articulation seems easier on the Bayreuth with the Bayamo. I keep switching around and experimenting with the RM1, Bayamo, Kellyburg, and a Roger Bobo Solo replica. Each seems to have something just a little different to offer.

Your difficulties in finding a comfortable playing position also ring true. I'm 6' 1" tall, but opposite the 'gorilla' build of some other tubists who frequent TubeNet in that I'm long legged. Hence I prefer a taller seat than the 'gorillas'. I also bought a K&M playing rest shortly after I received the Bayreuth because my DEG wasn't holding up very well under the strain. Because the K&M playing stand won't adjust low enough to use an ordinary chair I first bought a drafting chair in order to boost my height. This worked, but it was just a bit too high and I couldn't quite sit erect because the playing stand was just a bit too far forward. So after seeing a thread here on drum thrones I bought a Tama Ergo-Rider Quartet drum throne from WWBW. It's perfect in that I can position the Bayreuth where I want it on the K&M stand and also get some back support during playing.

So, I have this large instrument, a playing stand, and a special chair that I might have to cart around if I were playing gigs. In reality, I'm just practicing right now, but if I need to travel I found a cheap 22" x 18" bass drum case on ebay that will hold the stand and the drum throne, both of which are portable (plus any necessary refreshments!)

Best Regards,
Jerry

[Lee Stofer]

Yes,
I sold this rare and beautiful beast to Matt early this year. This is the only silver-plated 6/4 Rudi BBb ever made, and might just possibly be the only 6/4 Rudi BBb in the US. If anyone else out there has one or knows the whereabouts of one on the North American Continent, please send me an e-mail.
Their price is slowly edging up towards $20,000.00, due to currency rates and other economic conditions, plus the fact that there is a whale of a lot of materials and workmanship involved in one of these. Matt, you should post a close-up of the engraved valve levers.

Michael Moore of the Atlanta Symphony came by and play-tested it before it went to Matt. He had also brought his Holton CC for minor repairs that day. The Holton looked positively 4/4 in size, compared to this Rudi! Professor Moore used his Parke-Ofenloch mpc, and thoroughly enjoyed the instrument, saying he would love to spend some quality time in Symphony Hall with the 6/4. His overall impression was that the instrument was more agile and responsive than he had expected of such a mammoth tuba, but particularly the ease of good intonation in the low register.

If I remember correctly, the bore is .847", and the main tuning slide bore is .920" entering and 1.1" on the large side. The top bow is comparable in size to a Mirafone 186 bottom bow, and it is crowned with a 22" bell diameter. The alligator case is also a sight to behold.

Matt, I should have warned you about the "big silver tuba complex" that some conductors have. Michael Sanders once told me that when he took his first Yorkbrunner to its first rehearsal, the conductor had decided that he was playing too loud before he played a note ;^)

[TubaTodd]

.....This is the only silver-plated 6/4 Rudi BBb ever made, and might just possibly be the only 6/4 Rudi BBb in the US. If anyone else out there has one or knows the whereabouts of one on the North American Continent, please send me an e-mail.

Well, when I was at Ithaca College, one of my studio mates had a 6/4 BBb Rudy Meinl he named "Caesar." It was a WONDERFUL sounding horn. The owner was Richard Denton, now with the US Coast Guard band. Perhaps Rich or Adam Crowe could chime in and give us some info about "Caesar."

[Lars Trawen]

Your difficulties in finding a comfortable playing position also ring true.

I also have a huge tuba (MW 200) that needs to be placed on the chair or sligthly lower. None of the more common tuba rests are able to set at that level but now I've found the Tubassist. This one is possible to set at any level useful for any tuba. I always bring it to all sitting gigs.
http://www.tubassist.com/
Lars

[GC]

Lars,

Your Web site has the only picture I've seen anywhere of the MW 200. Could you possibly post it here?

[Lars Trawen]

Sure, it's a pleasure.
The tuba is 44" tall, bore is 0.846" and bell is 20".
It was bought brand new eight years ago directly from the factory in Germany.
Mine has a second valve trigger, however never used, no need.
I don't know which one of the homesites you have seen. If it was in Slagtofta Angus, it's not the MW 200, however a Miraphone stencil that I tested some years ago.
The MW 200 can be found here: http://w1.415.telia.com/~u41505947/Tubapics.htm
I have more pics if you are interested.
I don't know how to add pics directly in the post, so if anyone could explain I would be grateful.
All the best,
Lars

[GC]

You're right, it's a different horn. It's the picture on the Angus site where the caption begins with "Papa Lars . . ." It's a gigantic horn, too. What model was it?

[Lars Trawen]

What model was it?

Trade mark of the tuba is JF Kayser, model 2090A. It's made in Holland by Van Weersel in Enschede. They told my it's a copy of a Miraphone. As far as I can found out from an old catalogue it should be model 170090A, however it seems not to be available any more.
Regards,
Lars