How big is this tuba?

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 3:30 am

Here is a pic of me with with a BBb 345 that I am restoring for Bandmaster. It is about to ship out for silver plate. I am a tad over 6'4''. They are pretty big. And when you are in the buffing room polishing the horn for a few hours, they get even bigger.

Daniel C. "looking forward to completing this project soon" Oberloh

Rick Denney · Post by **Rick Denney** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 8:48 am

einahpets wrote:How big is a Holton 345 BBb? Is it HUGE? or just large?

Here is a BB-345 side-by-side with a Rudolf Meinl 5/4 C tuba.

Rick "more comparison photos: http://www.rickdenney.com/tubas_compared.htm" Denney

bort · Post by **bort** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 3:03 pm

einahpets wrote:How big is a Holton 345 BBb? Is it HUGE? or just large?

The Holton 345 is a classic BAT. Please reference the "BA" part of that.

UDELBR · Post by **UDELBR** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 5:19 pm

Adam Peck wrote:The Rudy 5/4 is a big boy.

Heh. Try a toot on their 6/4! Now that's a man's toooba!

Rick Denney · Post by **Rick Denney** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 9:14 pm

einahpets wrote:A Rudolf 5/4 Is bigger then a holton 6/4? wow

No. It's taller, but not bigger. At any given point on the taper of the outer branches, the Holton is fatter. The Rudy is, like all Rudys, on the large side of its size category, being as big as many so-called 6/4 tubas and nearly as big as the biggest of them. And the Holton is among the biggest of the 6/4 grand orchestral type.

The Rudy 6/4 is, of course, its own planet with its own gravitational field. A Holton would orbit it like a small moon. I don't have a picture of the Rudy--my camera didn't have a wide enough lens.

Rick "noting that the 20" bell on a Holton doesn't have much flare" Denney

bort · Post by **bort** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:03 pm

einahpets wrote:Does anyone know of a 6/4 Rudolf Meinl for sale?

Don't count on it. There are probably only a few that exist, and maybe 1 or 2 here in the US. And though people say they really play well for their comically large size, I think there are very few reasonable applications for a tuba this big (and expensive). It would be like cutting a tomato with a chainsaw.

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:35 pm

About the only way to get a Rudy 6/4:

1) Contact Tubameister, Lee Stofer, put down a large deposit, and order one; or
2) Fly to Germany, tour the factory, put down a large deposit, and order one.

TUbajohn20J · Post by **TUbajohn20J** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 1:43 am

I think I heard somewhere that the big Rudy 6/4 in silver are around $28,000

Bob Kolada · Post by **Bob Kolada** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 2:43 am

I'd love to see a picture of you forgetting all this internet babble and buying a 1291.

UDELBR · Post by **UDELBR** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:16 am

einahpets wrote:
TUbajohn20J wrote:I think I heard somewhere that the big Rudy 6/4 in silver are around $28,000
Wow sounds nice. I would love to see a picture of this tuba.

(I know: not impressive since there's no basis for comparison in the picture...)

Bob Kolada · Post by **Bob Kolada** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:17 am

einahpets wrote:
Bob Kolada wrote:I'd love to see a picture of you forgetting all this internet babble and buying a 1291.
I tried one of those, they were good but I have played better.

Rest assured, PT6's are far worse.

tofu · Post by **tofu** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:45 am

iiipopes wrote:About the only way to get a Rudy 6/4:

1) Contact Tubameister, Lee Stofer, put down a large deposit, and order one; or
2) Fly to Germany, tour the factory, put down a large deposit, and order one.

Actually Lee Stofer when he stopped by my place back in December had a beautiful slightly used one that was like new and at half the price of a new one. If I recall he said it was part of a matched set of instruments that had been done by RM a few years ago for a big show in Europe. I believe among other extra's the horn was in Rose Brass. It was very nice - you will need your own roadie to haul it around. I don't know if he still has it, as a certain Chicago pro was trialing it. If you are serious give Lee a call. If you are looking for a big horn, but at a more economical cost Lee is still a good guy to contact and he can probably get you what you need at a price you can afford. Plus, you will know that the horn will be thoughly tested, tweaked and put right by Lee.

Bob Kolada · Post by **Bob Kolada** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:47 am

tofu wrote:Plus, you will know that the horn will be thoughly tested, tweaked and put right by Lee.

But will it have luggage/suitcase wheels installed?

tofu · Post by **tofu** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:57 am

Bob Kolada wrote:
tofu wrote:Plus, you will know that the horn will be thoughly tested, tweaked and put right by Lee.
But will it have luggage/suitcase wheels installed?

Actually it came with a nice fitted (I think custom RM) gig bag which could double as a sleeping bag for two! Pictures don't do this horn justice - it really is massive.

Bob Kolada · Post by **Bob Kolada** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:54 am

tofu wrote:
Bob Kolada wrote:
tofu wrote:Plus, you will know that the horn will be thoughly tested, tweaked and put right by Lee.
But will it have luggage/suitcase wheels installed?
Actually it came with a nice fitted (I think custom RM) gig bag which could double as a sleeping bag for two! Pictures don't do this horn justice - it really is massive.

Actually, I mean wheels ON the tuba itself.

Bandmaster · Post by **Bandmaster** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:54 am

tubarnak · Post by **tubarnak** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:00 am

This is from a post dating back a few years, I think...
I can't find the exact pic I was looking for; this 6/4 Rudy belongs to a US Army Band, huge instrument...
Next to a St-Petersburg

I think they only make the 6/4 in BBb.
I'd like to see it next to a 345 but I'm pretty sure the 345 would be right in the middle...
Would the Holton compare to a Thor?

bort · Post by **bort** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:04 am

Bandmaster wrote:

No, no, that leadpipe angle is all cooked, no one will want to play one of those...

tbn.al · Post by **tbn.al** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:09 am

I "played" a Rudy "Beastie" at Lee's before he moved to the sticks. I was in the shop getting some work done on my Bielefelder, one size smaller than a 184, and he asked me if I would like to honk a bit on it. Honk is about all I could do. It is huger than huge. I couldn't even hold it in my lap for 5 minutes without fear of dropping it. Of course Lee then picked it up and played Bydlo. A massive instrument for which I cannot imagine a realistic use, for me anyway.

Rick Denney · Post by **Rick Denney** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:12 am

The Holton is significantly bigger than a Thor. It is somewhat bigger even than a 6450 Baer, which is the next size up from the 5450 Thor.

The Rudy 6/4 is far bigger than any of the above. It has a 22" bell that is proportioned to the instrument the same as the 18" bell on the Rudy 4/4, which is already among the biggest of "4/4" instruments. The Rudy 3/4 is more like most 4/4's, especially the smaller instruments now in the 4/4 category just because of their 20" bell.

I know of two Rudy 6/4s owned by individuals in the U.S., a rose-brass model owned by a military tuba player and a silver one owned by who else by Mike Lynch.

When I last visited Mike, I made a picture of a Holton and a Rudy 6/4 side by side, but I keep forgetting to dig up that batch of pictures to post. I did compare a Holton and a Rudy side by side at Lee's booth several years ago, and the Rudy dwarfs the Holton.

I would never recommend the Rudy 6/4 as a general-purpose instrument, but despite that it is amazingly playable. It isn't just a novelty. But it takes a real horse of a player, and a mouthpiece suited to the instrument, to produce a lot of clarity and color. As the floor of a section in a band, it's at its best. I think it would take a lot of work to give it the singular sound needed for an orchestra, though.

Rick "too many pictures; too little time" Denney

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