Friends etc ... Lend me your ears.

[pwhitaker]

I need some input re the 2 horns I'm currently using for Trad Jazz: a 5/4 Rudy Meinl fixed upright bell vs. a 2 piece 186 Miraphone with recording bell. Both are 4 rotary valve BBb and have some age: 15 - 35 years.

If you would be so kind as to follow this link: http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?play=617617&T=3373" target="_blank" and listen a bit to both tunes I would be most grateful.

The Mira is used in 'Shine'; the Rudy in 'I Found a New Baby'. These are similar tunes so it should be an apples to nearly apples comparison.

I'm leaning towards the 186 for this kind of music but I would appreciate any thoughts you would care to share.

[imperialbari]

Good drive in the band on both tunes, so they surely could hear you. Even if my home-theatre-connected-to-the-Mac is kind towards low frequencies I found none of the recordings being favourable towards your bass line. The front-line and even the banjo were picked up much better by the microphones. Only a few passages in your upper range came through more clearly. I have no reason to believe the fault being on your side.

With this disclaimer told I still prefered the slightly better bite of the tuba on Shine. That is what I would want for this kind of music.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

[Art Hovey]

At least on these recordings, the characteristics that the tubas give to your sound are insignificant compared to the characteristics that you personally deliver. Stick with which ever tuba is more comfortable for you.

Who's the banjo player? He sounds familiar to me.

[Mojo workin']

I was taught by one of the country's finest jazz tuba players, who uses a Holton York copy most of the time for his jazz/dixieland work, so I am partial to the darker, bigger sound. The Miraphone like others have said has more bite, but the Rudy has more presence and gives the ensemble more of a bottom. This is a case where I would vote for the larger horn in a smaller ensemble setting.

[pwhitaker]

...Who's the banjo player? He sounds familiar to me.

He's your old friend Mark Finks. He used to be in the Galvanized Jazz Band. I've been playing with him now since the late 70's. He has an incredible memory for lyrics.

[iiipopes]

It should be obvious from my signature which I'm partial (pun intended) to. Try the 186 with a PT-34 mouthpiece to get a quicker response and more air through the horn when you need it. A tone with more overtones in a smaller group will help the rest of the group hear you better, but will still come out round and full out front.

[pwhitaker]

I was waiting for you to proselytize on behalf of the 186. The PT-34 is way too small for me - I was using my 36 mm titanium AA bowl made by G&W on these cuts. This is an extremely (for me) responsive mpc and seems to provide a little more accuracy. Interestingly enough, the LM-12 works extremely well for me in both horns, but it is super edgy.