bass or contrabass (f or cc)

[craig2000]

Hi everyone,
I have recently purchased an f and a cc. I'm from the land of EEb and have therefore been taught and have freelanced exclusively with EEb since I was 18.
The f and Cc have been brilliant and I'm loving playing but I have one question for any pros out there.
What do you do when u get a work that is very high and very low and switches from huge orchestration to small almost immediately.
I have low E's at ff and also have high Eb's at pp on the same page, but within orchestration that is quite full.
Should I get the EEb out?

[craig2000]

Thanks for the reply, I should probably have given more info but actually re reading my late night post has made me realise its a bit of a dumb question.

[imperialbari]

I have low E's at ff and also have high Eb's at pp on the same page, but within orchestration that is quite full.
Should I get the EEb out?

Not being a pro tubist I still tend to wonder, why you would consider the 983 the best compromise for the two sample notes mentioned.

The inherently weakest note on a compensating Eb tuba in most cases will be exactly that low E right above the open pedal Eb. 2nd valve pedal E would be much easier to belt out on most good F tubas.

Klaus

[Wyvern]

Depends on the piece and the ensemble. However, I agree with Klauss that low E is a weak note on Eb tuba, so would probably use the F tuba.

[craig2000]

Its a comfort thing. I haven't played EEb for ages but every time something comes up that isn't obviously cc or f I wonder whether its safer just to use what I know best. After a day of practise today it has all become much clearer. And your absolutely right the low e is great on my f. Happy days!

[J.c. Sherman]

Never had a problem with the low E on my Eb... my 3rd comp slide was out far, and on the B&H Imperial, it sat out fine. I'd whip out the Eb.

J.c.S.