What were your favorite new horns - the Army Tuba Conference

[bisontuba]

Hi-
So, what were your favorite new horns at the Army Tuba Conference?
mark

[Dean E]

I was surprised in a good way by the Willson compact, 4P + 1R Eb tuba. No trouble with pedal Eb and lower. I think there was a note that it weighed 21 pounds, so, compact in wrap only.

[Bill Troiano]

I do like the M+M 6V F tuba. I'll try it again tomorrow. BTW. I made it here.

[Bob Kolada]

It was a tie between it and the front valve Kanstul Eb, but I'm probably going to be trying to get the Miraphone 1281 through my band. What a horn!
The front valve Kanstul is slightly more comfortable to play but the 1281 has a slightly better low range and will fit better for what I need. That Eb has a -fantastic- feel and sound, to me it is everything that a 5xJ isn't but with that confident Eb feel.
The Kanstul F was very nice and rock solid all the way down.
The Chinese contrabone, 6 valve F, and small rotary baritone were all very, very nice. The contra need to be lubed and possibly cleaned but the valves were very tight- the Bb valve really popped! Too bad I am used to the completely different F/C/Db tuning as opposed to that horn's F/D/Bb/Ab; it really made me feel like a simpleton. This horn was definitely worth looking at, the guy told me they had made some changes.
The rotary baritone was also very nice with a great low range- this thing could maybe, maybe work as a bass trombone sub for valve players. The F was great, I will probably try to get one of these once things pick up or when I sell my several superfluous trombones. I really wish 5 was above 6 though.
First time playing a MW 182- super little horn with a big sound, easy playability, and great low range. The PT Eb was great as it and the MW 2141 always are. I also played a pretty nice 3 front valve York Eb. Intonation seemed OK and B and Bb were fine (low A kinda sucked). The 981 and Miraphone comp Eb's are both great horns but not to my liking. I played my first cimbasso today, a MW F. That thing sucked. I first noticed that the 4th and up partials were extremely airy until I realized that my right leg was hitting the extended water key. However, after that they still sucked. C in the staff on down were fine but way too bass trombone-y for the use and price, even for me. If all cimbassi are this bad, color me disheartened and sign me up for a lifetime of contrabone instead.

That little Willson Eb rocks, but it was probably a bit too bright for my band to accept. I really got a vintage vibe not from playing it, but from holding it. It is a seriously cool horn to hold. Interestingly enough Dean, the compact Eb, 3400, and the 3100 all had the same listed weight. Regardless of anything else, this horn is on my future list.

It was great to see Lee Stofer and Mike Finn again, hang out with Mike Evans, meet and talk old tubas with Tom Treece, and to talk to Marty Erickson again and hear about his basketball game with Manute Bol. Marty's a friggin badass.

I REALLY with Miraphone would bring a rotary tenor tuba (big boy, not oval) and a contrabone to one of these things. 2 Midwests and 1 TEC and nothing of the sort has shown up. I keep thinking about that contra I played years ago...

[jtuba]

I disagree about the Kanstul F. I'm not sure it's very good, but maybe my air doesn't mate well with the design of the horn. MOFWIW

[jtuba]

The 2250 was one of the best horns I played here. Need to play it outside of an elephant room to be sure

[Bandmaster]

There was one small and sort of hidden comment...

The Kanstul F was very nice and rock solid all the way down.

I played it at the NAMM Show and even I could sound good on it. But I am not an "F" player and have no experience on other F tubas, so my recomendation doesn't mean a whole lot. But there were several good players there that seemed to really like it! It always seemed to be in somebody's hands being test played while I was visiting the Kanstul booth. But then, no tuba can make everybody happy, right?

[Walter Webb]

Wanting Kanstul play test impressions, as ever. Eb, Bb, CC and F. Bring 'em on.

[Mojo workin']

I really liked the Miraphone Bruckner. Just a really solid, efficient, beautiful sounding machine. Valves were the best rotary valves I've ever played. Effortless response throughout the range of the instrument.

John Cradler of the US Marine Band had just bought one, and recommended highly the ones that WW and BW had. He was right.

I wish that I had had a chance to play one against a tuner, but from what I heard in my 5 - 7 minutes of playing, VERY consistent.

[arpthark]

The MW 2250 immediately struck me as being awesome. Not in the "Dude, that's awesome" sense, but genuinely awesome. I'm very glad I got to play this horn when the room wasn't crowded. Partials popped out with minimal effort and it had a great, commanding sound, polar opposite of the "tubby CC-esque 6/4 F" sound. Very hammer-like. It even looks like a baby Thor. Response was great. Intonation was great. I was genuinely taken aback by how good this horn was.

I was also impressed by the MW 4450. Ease of playing was similar to the 2250 but the sound was darker than the 2250 and the low range was the tiniest bit harder to control. That's probably user error though. I think the Meinl-Weston 3rd valve slide layout is one of the best things about their rotary horns; it doubles as a palm rest, making the horn very easy to hold and doesn't cramp up your hand.

The Kanstul F was a little small for me. I'm sure it would fit someone else perfectly, but ergonomically it didn't cut it, and I didn't like the sound I got from it.

The Eb's that I enjoyed most were the Kanstul 4+1 front-action Eb and the Willson large Eb. The Kanstul had a super-round, blossomy sound that I really enjoyed. The Willson's sound was a little more direct. The horn itself was also very heavy.

The only BBb that I spent any time on was the MW 196. What a great horn that was; you can keep giving it and giving it on that low F and it just keeps taking it and taking it. The feel of the instrument was different than any BBb I've ever played before. Very easy to maneuver around on; you would have thought you were playing something much, much smaller.

CC's. I fell in love with the PT-6 (not 6P) almost immediately. Rotors were great, intonation tendencies about the same as my PT-20P so no big deal there, sound was super, low range was incredible. Other biggish CC's I liked were the Willson 3050 and the Miraphone Bruckner. I also played the Yorkbrunner at the WWBW booth and the MW 6450. The Yorkbrunner sucked the air out of me and the MW 6450 was, I thought, surprisingly bright for a 6/4 horn. Again, that's most likely user error.

The M&M 186 clone was fantastic. I didn't care for their new 5/4 model.

The Kanstul model 90 CC was one of the best 4/4 CC's there, I thought. Sound had a really nice round "pop" to it, very interesting. 5th valve was a bit ergonomically awkward for me.

I also liked the Miraphone 188 the best between the 186, 188 and 190 CC. 186 was a bit bright and 190 was just an air-sucker. The 188 was a happy medium.

(Although this isn't a "new horn,") I also played a sweet vintage Mirafone 185 at the Baltimore Brass display. The long 5th threw me a loop, but I really liked how "tight" the response was, and the sound was very interesting. The Getzen G50 had a Kanstul-esque sound and great response. Intonation seemed a little wonky, but I didn't have my tuner with me the day I tried this one out.

Unusual stuff: I tried out the Dillon travel tuba. It felt like I was buzzing into a straw! Compared to a "normal" tuba... well, there is no comparison. I am sure it would fit someone's needs perfectly if you needed a tuba on-the-road (or in the hotel..) The paddles on this thing were tiny!

I played the M&M contrabass trombone but was immediately flummoxed by the valves. I have absolutely nothing to compare it against, but it seemed like a fun horn.

Also, the MW cimbasso. I've never tried a cimbasso before either. I'm not sure if this applies to cimbassi in general, but I felt like this thing was going to snap at the braces or something. Seemed pretty flimsy, but maybe that's the nature of the beast. I couldn't get a decent sound out of it (read: user error). It was fun to try out, though.

---
I had a great time at the conference. I've never been before; I was in horn heaven. Saw some great groups play. Tim Buzbee did a very entertaining performance and Sotto Voce raised the roof. Also bought a copy of Song and Wind, a Harvey Phillips CD and three Sotto Voce CDs. I am a happy dude.

[cjk]

...
Unusual stuff: I tried out the Dillon travel tuba. It felt like I was buzzing into a straw! Compared to a "normal" tuba... well, there is no comparison. I am sure it would fit someone's needs perfectly if you needed a tuba on-the-road (or in the hotel..) The paddles on this thing were tiny!
....

Dillon travel tuba? Is that something new, or did you actually mean Meinl-Weston?

[arpthark]

I believe it was something new. It was sitting over near the Dillon booth, next to the mouthpieces, and had the store logo stamped on the bell. It had the screw bell like the MW travel tuba. I only spent about three minutes on the horn. Maybe someone else could chime in with more info about it?

[eutubabone]

I thought the Miraphone 1293 was great. Prokov.5 low notes just popped out with great ease. MW 2165 was nice too.

[Wyvern]

Dillon travel tuba? Is that something new, or did you actually mean Meinl-Weston?

I heard there is a new Chinese made travel tuba, so guess that is it???

It will have to be very good indeed to hold a candle to the MW 14, but will no doubt be a lot cheaper!

Jonathan "currently enjoying playing his in China"

[bort]

Was the new MW Tuono (5/4 rotary CC) there?

[Casey Tucker]

Is there anymore news/opinions regarding the Miraphone 1293 and the MW Tuono? Noticed the 1293 on the Miraphone site and didn't notice a big difference between the 1291/2 other than a slightly larger bell.

-CT

[cjk]

I believe it was something new. It was sitting over near the Dillon booth, next to the mouthpieces, and had the store logo stamped on the bell. It had the screw bell like the MW travel tuba. I only spent about three minutes on the horn. Maybe someone else could chime in with more info about it?

Was it an F instrument like the MW?

I have been hoping that some enterprising company might make a 4 valve "tornister" tuba in CC or something similar to the travel tuba in CC.

[bort]

Is there anymore news/opinions regarding the Miraphone 1293 and the MW Tuono? Noticed the 1293 on the Miraphone site and didn't notice a big difference between the 1291/2 other than a slightly larger bell.

-CT

My personal opinion (which shouldn't be an indicator of more than what I like...)... is that I strongly preferred the 1291.5 I used to own to the 1293 I've tried (not at the conference). More likely than not, I think it's a case where that specific 1291.5 is better than that specific 1293. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable trying to claim any more than that!

[Wyvern]

You have got to remember that the MW travel tuba is made of size to take as cabin luggage on air flights - which it does very well with surprising good tone once one gets the feel of how to play it.

If you just want a small tuba to go hiking, then I think the MW 182 is an ideal choice.

Would be nice if there was a CC tornister tuba.

[bisontuba]

Hi-
I have one of the Bb 4 rotary valve tenor tubas & other items from JinBao on order and they should arrive soon, but a Chinese practice screw-bell tuba is news to me--sounds very interesting...
mark