Cool horns at Midwest

[Bob Kolada]

For those who went to Midwest, what were your favorite horns?

I played a few contrabass tubas, but spent most of my tuba time on basses.

My favorites-
Willson 3400- Comfortable! Great intonation, great low end, big broad sound. I might have to get me one of these someday! I would have to ditch the thumb ring and get the receiver re-angled (I have a bit of an overbite). The 3200XS is also sweet and the kicker works great, but I would choose the 3400 as I already have a tiny bass tuba that I like (though the 3200XS is a good deal bigger than my King Eb). Marty Erickson is the coolest tuba player on the planet.

Miraphone 1281- What a great horn! All the Miraphones rocked (I didn't take too much to the comp Eb, but it did play well), but this was my favorite. The leadpipe was a bit low for giant Bob, but no biggie. Big fat sound, great low range,... Apparently there are no plans for a new 190 Bb, if anyone was waiting for one!

Miraphone 291- I love all the 191/1291 horns, but this one is awesome and doesn't have any of the "funny business" that many rotary tubas seem to have right above the 2nd partial.

Other nice horns- St. Pete rotary Eb (very nice!), MW 2141 and 45SLP (I got about 5 notes on the 2250 before they told me someone had bought it!), small York 3 valve Eb (get your kids playing tuba! I was told that a 3+1 version is in the works; very small horn with a fairly large bell; it actually kinda looks like one of the small Michigan York Eb's), Gronitz piston F (excellent low range, but I was more taken by the 1281 overall), Tuba Exchange piston Bb and big rotary Bb (not the 191, but the one that kinda looks like it), PT-7P (the only PT tuba I liked, most of them are just too dark/mellow/.... for me), Gemstone Bb (but too awkward of a valve angle for me), Jupiter multicolored "983" Eb (the rep. told me that Jupiter is planning to redo the valve angle; something that according to him Besson was never willing to do.),...

Favorite non-tuba low brass-
- My favorite bass trombones, out of all the Greenhoes, Shires,.... were the Getzen 1062 and the Jupiter independent Thayer. I had never played a Thayer bass before and expected a bit more out of them than I got. The Jupiter was sweet though! I have come to the conclusion that unless I get a super wide slide independent basses are not for me.
- I really didn't like any of the euphoniums I played, but the Yamaha marching baritone and euphonium were a lot of fun and played better for me than their King equivalents.

All the low brass representatives I talked to (and some spent quite a lot of time with me!) are really nice people, and very enthusiastic.

I spent more time on the 281 and 3400 than any other tuba. Fun!! Though sadly no cimbassi or contrabones were to be had...

[bort]

Out of curiosity (since it's been asked here by others...) did you try the 291 side by side with the 1291 or with a 188?

[Bob Kolada]

I did not play a 188 or a 1291 C, but I did play the 291, 191, and 1291 Bb. Markus Theinart told me that the 291 is completely different from the 191, it even has a different bell.

The 291, even with my admitted lousiness on rotaries, played just as clean as the 1291 Bb and was a bit brighter. Low range seemed about equal. The 291 was superb, but I would probably get a 1291 in either pitch (partially as I prefer piston horns, partially for the used factor $) instead.

[Spencer_Brown]

Who bought the MW2250 f? I went there specifically to try it after hearing great things about it.... but it was sold by 12pm today. If the lucky one is reading this, please give us some info in this new horn! On another note, the specimens at both Custom and Miraphone were not nearly as good as last year. Specifically- if you went to Midwest to try a PT-6, do NOT base you judgements on the horns that were there. There are much better examples out there

[tubatom91]

I tried every horn that I could. These are the ones I was impressed with:
Meinl Westons; Fafner piston, Baer F, 45SLP, Travel F (played a lot better than it looks)
Miraphone: Firebird, Bruckner, Petrushka (Best piston valveset I played on, I thought the Firebird played better though).
B&S: PT6-P, JBL 6 valve F
Nirschl: The newest BBb that was at Gemstone.
These are the horns I was NOT impressed by:
Meinl Weston: Baer 6/4 CC (wasn't too impressed fr the monster price tag)
Miraphone: 1292 (couldn't get much out of the low register, really reminded me why I bought a 188)
B&S: PT-6 rotary (very vanilla and bland)

Although I liked a lot of horns I don't plan on replacing anything anytime soon. I'll consider the day a victory.

[pigman]

Did you play the Blessing M300 marching baritone. I thought that out of all the marching horns it was far and away the most in tune and able to put out extream volume. I also marveled at the fact that someone at blessing thought of the little details to make an educators life easier. special screw-off bottom caps and bigger diamiter slide ferrules to make pulling stuck slide easier. Ireally liked the Nirschal horn . I can see the point on the valve angle.

ray

[timdicarlo]

I was most impressed with the Gronitz piston F and the Miraphone Petruschka. Two of the most fun-to-play tubas I've ever laid hands on, and they both played absolutely fantastically. The poor guy at the Tuba Exchange booth probably thought I was about to lay down money on the Gronitz by how much time I spent on it. I was disappointed by the lack of Hirsbrunners at Cusom Music, as those were sort of the main attraction for me last year. I was also hoping to try some Yamaha horns, but they only brought a couple in favor of their many other instrumental lines. Did anybody else see the tie-dyed BBb at the Jupiter booth? Nothing special as a musical instrument, but the looks I got from passersby were hilarious!

[Spencer_Brown]

Bloke,
I give you an open invitation to try my PT-6p. It has no modifications and plays amazingly well.

[TubaTodd]

Bloke,
I give you an open invitation to try my PT-6p. It has no modifications and plays amazingly well.

I don't want to speak for bloke...BUT....he said PT-6 and not PT-6P. I've had a similar experience with a PT-6. A grad student we had when I was a freshman had one. Some studio-mates loved it and others hated it. For me....I couldn't get past the way it blew. I seem to remember a lot of resistance. I remember trying a PT-20 a year or so later and I remember liking it better.

There's one fact that seems to hold true. The PT-6 (and 6P) has been in the hands of a few symphony winners in recent years.

[Bob Kolada]

Did anybody else see the tie-dyed BBb at the Jupiter booth? Nothing special as a musical instrument, but the looks I got from passersby were hilarious!

Odd... The tie-dyed Jupiter I played was their comp Besson 983 Eb clone (from a distance I thought it was a 482 at first).

[iiipopes]

And for those of us with lesser budgets, please comment on the St Pete Eb.

[Bob Kolada]

The St. Pete Eb was quite nice- solid low range, solid build, good intonation,... It kinda seemed to me to be in between the 2 Miraphone Stars, if that helps.

If this was a typical example, I would think it quite a nice buy.

[iiipopes]

Thanks!

[jonesbrass]

And for those of us with lesser budgets, please comment on the St Pete Eb.

FWIW, I tried one of these out at the Tuba Exchange this past summer when I was searching for a bigger bass tuba. I actually liked the St. Pete Eb more than I liked the Gronitz piston F . A very nice little horn, great response, good intonation, the whole package.

[bort]

And for those of us with lesser budgets, please comment on the St Pete Eb.

FWIW, I tried one of these out at the Tuba Exchange this past summer when I was searching for a bigger bass tuba. I actually liked the St. Pete Eb more than I liked the Gronitz piston F . A very nice little horn, great response, good intonation, the whole package.

Cool! How much are they selling for now?

[Bob Kolada]

http://tubaexchange.com/product-detail.asp?PID=STP-206L" target="_blank

[Dylan King]

So how was te upper range on the 291? I've read a lot about the lower end of the horn, but can you comment on the upper end of it?

Thanks

The upper range on the 291 is quite nice. It plays VERY well in tune, which permits the notes to slot easily in the mind's ear. The horn can be played with a lot of volume up there, and also with a quiet touch if the player has a well developed emouchure. It doesn't slur quite as smoothly as a piston horn might, and in my opinion doesn't sing quite as much as my Yorkbrunner, but it gives a more direct and focused sound, while still maintaining an organ-like quality.

I find playing in the extreme high range is easier on the 291 too. The high G above middle C plays without too much effort, where I find it to be a difficult note on the Yorkbrunner. And one can squeak even farther into the trumpet range if their chops are just right.