This last week I bought Paul Tkachenko's Miraphone Starlight and today got chance to compare to Locky's Norwegian Star and thought others might be interested in the comparison.
Both Eb's play very well, but with distinctly different tone. The Starlight has a very clear direct tone and sounds to me like a smallish F tuba. Great for solo playing, quintet, or in orchestra where light tone is required - but is in no way an all purpose tuba. However that suits me as I want it to complement the 19" bell compensated EEb.
The Norwegian Star by comparison has quite a bit broader tone and sounds like a large F, or Eb - although with shallow cup mouthpiece it does sound more soloistic. It is very much an all-purpose Eb and I would think would make a pretty good substitute for a compensated EEb in band.
The pictures below show the physical differences - Starlight is on left. Note the Norwegian Star is broader across the bottom bow, while the Starlight has garland around bell. The piping layout is a bit different on the back. The NS was noticeably heavier than the Starlight. Both of these tubas are gold brass.
Thought I might chip in on this one as people might be interested in why I got rid of the Starlight.
The main reason was I simply wasn't using it - I'll detail why below.
I initially went to Miraphone to play the NS and SL side by side. My conclusion was, just like Jonathan's, that the NS was not significantly different to my 3 + 1 Yamaha Eb. In my opinion, it did have a few (obvious) advantages. The lower register was (obviously) much more free blowing. I concluded that if I bought the NS, I would have to sell my 3 + 1 Eb. I've had that tuba over 20 years now and it has just done too many gigs without causing me any trouble - it deserves to stay!
The SL, however, was a significantly different voice to my 3 + 1. As Jonathan says, it is for all purposes a slightly longer small F tuba. It wasn't that different from many of the miraphone small F tubas I played that day.
In fact, the guy's advice at Miraphone was: buy an F ...
I also contacted Oystein Baadsvik and he said buy a Norwegian Star ... for an all round tuba, I'd agree with him.
However, I was after a tuba simply for solo playing. The SL is great for this, especially with a piano or lighter accompaniments. It also suited some of the lighter orchestral stuff I used it for on the odd occaision.
All that said, I play mostly jazz and this is where the SL just wasn't cutting it. It simply didn't have the weight to hold it's own against the way many jazzers play. I used it mostly miked up as well. There was plenty of 'rip; but not enough 'body'. What I wasn't getting was the 'punch'.
Looking back on it, this all makes sense and mirrors my experience of playing other horns in jazz enembles that probably shouldn't be there (German rotary 6/4 tubas etc).
I now have a YFB 621 F instead and although I've not had it for long, I'm loving it.
Here's the thing - it's a much smaller tuba than the SL, but it seems to pack a lot more punch. Volume and bass I can get from the amp I'm using, but that punch can't be added ...
I've played a lot of rotary tubas and I rated the fast valves on the SL. However, they don't have the 'snap' of pistons. There are (again, obviously) pros and cons to both.
I haven't road tested the little Yamaha yet, but I really enjoy playing it (I was a little reluctant at the idea initially). Of course, jazzy stuff will be that little bit trickier on an F horn due to it being in flat keys - I'm sure I'll get used to that.
I do think that the SL is a nice addition for 3 + 1 E flat players who want that small rotary F sound, particularly for solo and lighter ensemble stuff.
I took the Bubbie tuba on my gig on Saturday, playing Balkan-dubstep. I got through the gig and the audience loved the instrument - I'm not sure it quite cut the mustard though! That said, it's great to have the little thing knocking around - it's ideal for practicing and I can see it being handy on some more subtle gigs.
Yamaha YEB 631
Yamaha YFB 621
Yamaha YCB 661
King 2370 Sousaphone, fibreglass
Bb Amati 4v Helicon
Bubbie tuba
Double bass by Thomas Martin, Clevinger Opus 5, Warwick, Fender and Music Man bass guitars.
Stacks of other stuff.
I also need a gigbag for the 621 F, but can't afford to shell out for a Cronkhite right now (I will get one later for sure!)
What do we think might be a workable alternative for my shallow pocket?
Bear in mind I'm in the UK ...
Yamaha YEB 631
Yamaha YFB 621
Yamaha YCB 661
King 2370 Sousaphone, fibreglass
Bb Amati 4v Helicon
Bubbie tuba
Double bass by Thomas Martin, Clevinger Opus 5, Warwick, Fender and Music Man bass guitars.
Stacks of other stuff.
Paul Tkachenko wrote:I took the Bubbie tuba on my gig on Saturday, playing Balkan-dubstep. I got through the gig and the audience loved the instrument - I'm not sure it quite cut the mustard though! That said, it's great to have the little thing knocking around - it's ideal for practicing and I can see it being handy on some more subtle gigs.
Love this review, but I really want to hear more about this Balkan dubstep. Are there any recordings or videos around?
"We can avoid humanity's mistakes"
"Like the tuba!"
Youtube 'Sam and the Womp' ... There must be stuff up there ...
Yamaha YEB 631
Yamaha YFB 621
Yamaha YCB 661
King 2370 Sousaphone, fibreglass
Bb Amati 4v Helicon
Bubbie tuba
Double bass by Thomas Martin, Clevinger Opus 5, Warwick, Fender and Music Man bass guitars.
Stacks of other stuff.
Reading comments here and there, Oystein Baadsvik seems to play both. When does he play the bigger one? He made mention of a conference where he played Prokofiev excerpts with a trombone section; I assume that he used the bigger one.
Paul Tkachenko wrote:I also need a gigbag for the 621 F, but can't afford to shell out for a Cronkhite right now (I will get one later for sure!)
What do we think might be a workable alternative for my shallow pocket?
Bear in mind I'm in the UK ...
I have an Altieri for a 621 that I bought used for 100 (US). I'm not the biggest fan of it (but ain't gonna sell it; I need it for my $800 tubas! ) but it works perfectly fine. I dented my little King's bottom bow somehow so in a fit of paranoia I put a big folded up towel in the bottom of the bag and was thereafter very careful when setting it down. I'm not even sure I dented it in the bag.
I just ordered a Tom and Will bag, which seems to be very cheap at just over £100. It looks decent (looks alone won't protect a tuba!)
I'll report back ...
Yamaha YEB 631
Yamaha YFB 621
Yamaha YCB 661
King 2370 Sousaphone, fibreglass
Bb Amati 4v Helicon
Bubbie tuba
Double bass by Thomas Martin, Clevinger Opus 5, Warwick, Fender and Music Man bass guitars.
Stacks of other stuff.
) but it works perfectly fine. I dented my little King's bottom bow somehow so in a fit of paranoia I put a big folded up towel in the bottom of the bag and was thereafter very careful when setting it down. I'm not even sure I dented it in the bag.