MW 3450

[Mitch]

Has anyone else seen this horn? I know others from here saw it at MidWest, as I did, but I'm wondering if it's been out in public anywhere else yet, or if this is its first appearance.

David Fedderly is at MidWest with the MW corral, and the 3450 is a new model. I know he said, "NEW new," but expect to hear a lot about this horn.

It's a fantastic 4/4. Very even, solid horn, easy to play, very comfortable to hold (I'm 5'8") and great feel. I'll defer to David on the price point, as I don't want to misquote. I think I remember what price was listed on the horn, but I keep thinking, "That can't be right..."

If you are in the market for a great 4/4, you've GOT to try this horn. I know other rave reviews come from the President's Own tuba section.

Damned good horn for the price.

[ckalaher1]

I don't think I've ever heard anything about this one. Is it replacing the 2145? Seems like that one doesn't really fit in with the rest of their stable anymore. I played one for a couple of years and loved it, but like I said, the Thor and the 6450 seem to make it feel....I don't know, dated.

[Mitch]

I don't know that it's intended to replace the 2145, but am fairly certain it will, without the 2145 remaining at a considerably lower price point than the 3450. I never liked the 2145. Based on the 2145 alone, I'd never buy a MW horn. But the 3450 is WORLDS apart.

It's in CC. It's a true 4/4.

And from what I understood, it is, as Mr. Fedderly stated, NEW new, so I'm not surprised it's not on their website.

Picture to come.

[Mitch]

As promised...





I'd just had lunch with an old friend when we ran into Tom Holtz of the Marine Band. He was singing the praises of this horn, so I had to try it. I'm very glad I did. Mr. Fedderly told me it was loosely based on the HoJo model, but with a larger bore. Unless I'm mistaken, it's the same bore set-up as most MW piston horns, graduated from .748 on up.

And I have to admit, I didn't do the best job of taking notes along with the photos I took, but I believe this is the rotary version of the same horn:

[TubaNerd88]

I believe that last picture with the rotor horn is the new Meinl Weston "Tuono" CC tuba. It's supposedly a rotor version of the "Thor." Alessandro Fossi helped design it from what I understand. He might chime in on this and verify if I'm right.

[Mitch]

You're probably right. I did play the Tuono, but when I was going back through the pictures, the horn didn't look as big as I thought the Tuono felt in person. But, now that I think about it, yeah, I think that's the Tuono.

[Tom]

Looks interesting. I have not seen it before this post.

Kinda like a baby Baer?

[bttmbow]

Looks good.

Goin' to Yosemite w/ Boo Boo 'fer a "pick-a-nick" soon, Mitch?

C

[Mitch]

Looks good.

Goin' to Yosemite w/ Boo Boo 'fer a "pick-a-nick" soon, Mitch?

C

??????

Um, ya lost me there. Bear/Baer reference, I'm assuming?

[cjk]

Just a guess. The bows look just like those of the Howard Johnson instruments (like the 2011FA for example) with the super long lead pipe, tiny valve set, and short inner loop removed, then the typical MW 19mm valve set attached.

I also would expect that it will be marketed as a 3/4 instrument.

6450 --> 6/4
5450 --> 5/4

3450 --> 3/4

But hey, that's all conjecture. I don't have any firsthand information whatsoever.

[Mitch]

Yes, as I previously stated, it is based on the Howard Johnson model. It is NOT a 3/4 horn. It is a 4/4 horn. If it's a 3/4, the Yamaha YBB-621 is a 3/16. Not a 3/4.

[Tom]

So it is, in fact, intended to be a "baby Baer" afterall. It appears to have the usual valve set with the 19mm bore (not the smaller set) and the 6450 style 5th valve placement.

But what's the consensus on the bell?

Surely it is a "pre-existing" bell, but which one? Is it the "standard" Meinl Weston 16.5" F tuba bell, the slightly larger 17.3" small BBb tuba / Eb tuba bell or something entirely different?

[bort]

Blah blah blah... what's the "nickname" for this tuba? How could I ever hop on the bandwagon if it's only a model number!? Every MW tuba *must* have one now, it seems! (Baer, Kodiak, Tuono, HoJo, Thor...)

PS -- nice looking tuba. LJV, I heard the same as you (a quintet CC)...and potentially from the same person as you.

[Tom Holtz]

I like this horn a lot. Very, very easy to play. 4/4 horn, not an ounce more.

I don't know what valve block it uses. Don't know if the bell exists on another horn. All I know is that the pitch was good, the sound was even and consistent top to bottom, and it was EASY to play. All the slides are right there if you need to pull, which I didn't.

If you are looking for a CC that will work in just about every group except the 80-piece orchestra you never play with anyway, and if you really aren't interested in schlepping around an extra 10 pounds of horn just to get The Hand more often, this is your horn. It's a 4/4, and that's it. MW has plenty of options for those who find the 3450 too small for their tastes.

Just my opinion, and YMMV.... the 3450 blows the 2145 and the HoJo front-action out of the water. I need to get up to Baltimore Brass and work with one of these for a bit longer in a quiet room.

[CC]

From what I understand, there are only one of these right now in the US and it will be at the TMEA convention. I'm not sure if this is a prototype or an example of the production model, but after playing it at Midwest I was very impressed.

[tclements]

No, it's more like a 13/16ths.....

[k001k47]

Blah blah blah... what's the "nickname" for this tuba?

spoddurm'n

[cambrook]

A little "Baer", it looks easy to hold - perhaps it should be Teddy?

[cambrook]

Gotcha!!