piston or rotary?

[Tubaguyjoe]

im looking into getting an f horn and i cant decide on piston or rotary, im currently playing a Meinl Weston 2145 which is piston, I want to know if there is really a difference or if it is seriously just personal preferance. Thanks. -Joe

[tubacdk]

yes, there is a difference. and yes, it is just personal preference.

my personal preference is rotaries, because I like the sound. I think that pistons are easier to play but I like the sound of rotaries better.

I'm gonna mention this too, because I'm sure someone else will chime in with the same thing: CHECK THE ARCHIVES. There have been pages and pages and pages and pages and pages of discussion on the topic.

-ck

[Dan Schultz]

I prefer rotary horns over pistons for most types of music except Dixie. I'm not sure why, ... I just do. However... choosing a horn is a very personal matter and you need to play as many of each type as you can before 'taking the plunge'.

[Z-Tuba Dude]

My personal preference in an F tuba (as if anyone really cares!), is the German style rotary horn.

My line of thinking is that, since European orchestral tubists traditionally use a rotary F, composers such as Wagner, and Mahler would have been exposed to that sound. It just seems logical that a rotary (read: German) horn would be the appropriate choice for that literature. The more German the better, I say!

Solo playing (which I do only infrequently) is another issue. A case could be made for either rotary, or piston.

[Lew]

Try them out and see which feels and sounds better for you. There is not a single answer. I actually prefer the feel of rotary valves, but all of my tubas have piston valves because the tubas that I preferred the playing feel and sound of happened to have pistons.

[Tubatoad]

I grew up with pistons on my euph, but when I switched to t-bone, the rotary on my Conn 88H spoiled me for anything else. My first tuba was a piston (price and availability), but as soon as I could justify an upgrade, I went rotary and love it!

[Steve Inman]

im looking into getting an f horn and i cant decide on piston or rotary, im currently playing a Meinl Weston 2145 which is piston, I want to know if there is really a difference or if it is seriously just personal preferance. Thanks. -Joe

For reasons never fully explained, most of the rotary F tubas take a bit of getting used to when playing the low D, Db, and CC notes (1 to 2 ledger lines below the staff). I've never yet played the rotary F where these notes "felt" comfortable. The best I can describe the "typical" rotary F response on these notes is that it "feels" (not necessarily sounds to the audience) like I'm playing with an open water key (spit valve). I love the sound of rotary F tubas, but I strongly prefer the playing feel of the YFB-621 for a small F tuba, and the YFB-822 for a large F tuba. I've heard that the Willson F also has a very good playing "feel" in these meduim-low register notes. Other F's may have similar characteristics.

When trying out F tubas, be sure you are comfortable with the overall intonation of the horn, and the playability of the notes in the range mentioned above.

Good luck,

[Chuck(G)]

There are, however, some differences in mechanical characteristics. Rotary instruments tend to be a little slower on the valve action than pistons. The throw is shorter on a rotary than a piston. Maintenance is easier on rotaries than pistons. Finger position is more critical with a piston than a rotary-you must push straight down on a piston and with a rotary you can push any old way you want.

Very true--and I think there's another thing--the geometry of a rotary tuba usually necessitates a much longer leadpipe than on a piston model. On a contrabass tuba, this may not matter too much, but ion a bass tuba (Eb/F), I think the long leadpipe and the resulting placement of the valve cluster accounts for at least some of the stuffiness of the low register commonly found on rotary basses.

[Rick Denney]

I want to know if there is really a difference or if it is seriously just personal preferance.

Yes.

Rick "wondering how you can separate the two" Denney

[TubaRay]

I agree with Rick's response--yes.

[JB]

I want to know if there is really a difference or if it is seriously just personal preferance.

Yes.

Rick "wondering how you can separate the two" Denney

I agree with Rick's response--yes.

And a third "YES." (But Mr Denney said it best...)