VMI 3301 Report

[tbn.al]

I picked up the new horn at the church this afternoon and have had less than 2 hours on it so far. It is surprisingly nimble for a larger horn, the scale is very good, the high range is very nice and the bottom ....I haven't found the bottom yet. It just keeps on going. This thing almost plays itself. The best thing so far is the realization that even though this is a front action piston horn it retains the core of the sound much like the stove pipes I have always played and loved. It is a very nice broad fundamental without losing the core. That kind of sounds like a wine tasters rating, but it's the best I can do for now. More later.

[billeuph]

Have you noticed the same odd feature about draining the horn that I have? So far, in about 6 hours of playing, I've yet to see any water drain from the water keys in the front, but gallons come from the water key in the lead pipe at the back of the horn. Hope this one never springs a leak since it's positioned right over my crotch ...

Has anyone tried an MF3 or Laskey 30H with this horn?

Bill Andeson

[Mike Finn]

...It is surprisingly nimble for a larger horn, the scale is very good, the high range is very nice and the bottom ....I haven't found the bottom yet. It just keeps on going. This thing almost plays itself....

Ditto that, this one's a keeper! (not going to flip it after the summer concert season)

Picked mine up at the depot yesterday morning and couldn't stop playing it. To me it's easier to play and hold than the new King, and I like the tone better. It has a great full contrabass sound, no mistake, but it's got a good core and plenty of focus above and below the staff as well.

The best thing so far is the realization that even though this is a front action piston horn it retains the core of the sound much like the stove pipes I have always played and loved. It is a very nice broad fundamental without losing the core

Although I've never loved a stovepipe, I know exactly what you mean. I think the longer leadpipe which allows for a larger bore through the valves, coupled with the fact that it doesn't try to get too big too quickly (modest bottom bow and stack) has a lot to do with it.

And yes, so far all my condensation has condensed in that little loop. It' rather convenient really, no endless searching for the source of the gurgling, no spinning or twisting required!

For a mouthpiece I'm really liking the MF5 right now, it seems to give me a cleaner and more focussed tone than its deeper counterpart, the MF3. And I've been using the MF3 for almost everything in every tuba I've played for the past six years or so. I'd suggest trying a large but not too deep mpc for this horn.

Here's the kicker: within hours of me unpacking the horn I received this e-mail

Mike,
Steve gave me your email address. I am looking for a Tuba player that can read notes and play changes. I am putting together a cool little Brass Band. We have a gig or two in the works and I want to look for more gigs once we have the group together. Half of the material is Funky Brass Band and the other half is Traditional Dixieland. I have all the other great players in place. If you think you might be interested let me know.

Coincidence?

[MikeMason]

if you buy it ,they will come.

[tbn.al]

Interesting mp develoment. I had been using my Yamaha Jim Self because it is what I'm used to. Today I polished the tooling lip off the 24AW knock off that came with the horn and the scale is even better. The 24AW is a slightly deeper cup with a larger bore but a smaller rim, 33mm for the Yammaha vs 31mm for the 24AW. The scale became almost spot on. Every pitch on the horn is in the green. The sound is broader though, almost woofy. This may be one of those horns that is very mp sensitive. I am noticing a substantial reduction in clams than on my 184, and I can play longer phrases. Go figure. Clams are my nemesis, maybe because of the doubling.This is fun!

[brianggilbert]

Sounds like you fellas got an unbelievable horn at a great price.

Congrats to you!

[billeuph]

Interesting mp develoment. I had been using my Yamaha Jim Self because it is what I'm used to. Today I polished the tooling lip off the 24AW knock off that came with the horn and the scale is even better.

Yours came with a 24AW knock-off? Mine came with a "B&S 18", which is a Bach 18 knock-off. Very different from a 24AW. Perhaps they included whatever they had in stock at the time.

Bill

[tbn.al]

I wonder what kind of looks and comments I will get if I show up at my quintet gig Wednesday night with the 3301 instead of the 184. If the case shows up I may try it. I am playing licks without thinking about it that I have always anticipated nervously before. I think I may have found a slight pitch problem though. Are the rest of you guys finding the 5th partial a tad flat. I can lip the open 2nd line D up but I lose center. I find 12 really centers the pitch. This is far better than the 2 inch pull I have to use on the 184 for the Eb a half step up. The stainless steel 24AW that came with the horn turns out only to look stainless. It's really plated brass. All complaints aired, I'll shut up now, but after a weekend of playing I continue to be amazed at how good a horn this is. It looks a lot like a PT-20P in the pics. I wonder if there are any design parallels.

[iiipopes]

Here's the kicker: within hours of me unpacking the horn I received this e-mail

Mike,
Steve gave me your email address. I am looking for a Tuba player that can read notes and play changes. I am putting together a cool little Brass Band. We have a gig or two in the works and I want to look for more gigs once we have the group together. Half of the material is Funky Brass Band and the other half is Traditional Dixieland. I have all the other great players in place. If you think you might be interested let me know.

Coincidence?

Without exception over the last 20 years, every time I either acquired a new instrument or had one in the stable refurbished (whether brass, guitar, bass, etc.), within a month I got a call for either a special session that they couldn't get the desired tone any other way, or a steady gig, each that over time paid for everything I had acquired or had done at the time.

If I were in the market for a piston instrument, these seem to be doing really well for a variety of circumstances.

[wr4]

Where are VMI 3301s available? I've been Googling for them...and found this thread.

[billeuph]

You can read all of the history in an old thread titled "is this insane." Woodwind and Brasswind had a clearance sale. They're long gone now. After the sale was discussed here on TubeNet, the rest of the dozen or so they had left were sold that day. I'm sure enjoying mine!

Bill Anderson