TMEA Tubas

[Chuck(G)]

Doc, were any of the Chinese contingent there with instruments?

...just curious.

[leehipp]

Chuck,

The Dalyan Co. has tubas at TMEA this year they are being distributed through Orpheus Music here in San Antonio. Very interesting horns, workmanship is vastly improved over prior Chinese models.

Dalyan is the only manufacturer in China that specializes in tubas and euphoniums. The horns at TMEA are mostly BBb with one each of CC, F and Eb. The CC, F and Eb are all rotary valve and definately not large instruments.

If things work out I will most likely be playing the F in a few weeks on Bydlo here with the SA Symphony, it has a very easy high register and it's smaller size seems to make more sense than using my 822.

Lee Hipp (Hi Mike, long time no see!)

[Chuck(G)]

Lee, thanks for the report!

Is this the same Orpheus that was once just about the only place to get a Miraphone in the USA? If so, they're not in the custom of selling junk, so the instruments must be pretty credible.

[TubaRay]

I'll jump in here and agree with Lee's post. I had the opportunity to try all of the Dalyan tubas. For the money, these horns are pretty good. At least, in my opinion they are. And Jim Gavigan and the Orpheus people are great people to work with. If you get a chance, try them out.

I'll have more to say about the horns at TMEA a little later. I'm tired from a full day of the conference.

I'll be back!

[Dylan King]

I think the Chinese are trying to slowly kill the Americans. They have that great food that we all over-eat, and now claim to have better than average, less than cheap tubas. I'd be very careful about buying these tubas. If they play as well as Chinese food smells, even the cheap $1 stuff, one might be tempted to eat one, choke, and die.

Lookout!

[chhite]

Cheap on the front side of any large purchase is not always good. Factor in the repair costs for poor workmanship, fit and construction, lower quality machined parts, and you've worked up to the price of a horn put together right in the first place. There have also been name-brand horns that have had these problems, but this has been the exception rather than the rule.

We've all heard the stories of students buying cheap horns without their teacher's advice and ending up with a money pit that would be better suited as a door stop. Again, as with any large purchase, do your homework. Consult your teacher and ask your local repairman. He can offer advice on which horns he has seen in his shop most and for what reason. He can also offer a course of preventative maintanence that can save you money over the life of whatever horn you purchase.

My skeptical $0.02

[leehipp]

I totally agree chhite...

Everyone mentioned should check these out and come to their own conclusion as to the value.

- Lee Hipp (who eats more than his share of really good cheap chinese food)

[Paul S]

Well, I went today and tried some horns I haven't yet been able to review. I won't review those I've previously reviewed.

Mouthpieces used:
Conn Helleberg
Laskey 30Ge
PT 72
Mirafone Rose Solo

I started off at Custom. I tried the PT 606Ps and the PT 7Ps. Both good horns, but did not respond well in the low register. Intonation could have been better, but it was correctable. The silver 606 was not as good as the laquered one I previously tried, which was a real contender. Doc

Hi Doc,

Thanks again for the great reviews. You know my opinion of the 606 (GR-41) but I will agree totally with you based on the mouthpieces that you used. When I stuck a Helleberg and Laskey 30G in the 606 it was like something was wrong with the horn that I could not figure out. Once I put a PT50+, Deck 2 or PT-42 in the horn it was a totally different beast and I fell in love with the horn over everything else.

[The Impaler]

Seems like i'm behind the curve a little bit here. I must agree with Doc, the PT-22 was a real jewel. I loved the way it played and the openess of the lower register (esp the pedals) was awesome! My only thing was, the stinking ergonomics of the horn were abyssmal, at least for me. The lead pipe wasn't pulled around enough, and to get the horn to my face without contorting my torso, I had to stick my left arm almost all the way out to hold it, which was a pain. And to top that off, the first valve slide is a mandatory mover, esp on the 5th harmonic Fs and Es, so not only was my left arm (fully extended mind you) supporting almost the entire weight of the horn, I had to manipulate the first valve slide with that same hand!!!! Anyways, love the sound, but I couldn't hold the darn thing for six or eight minutes without having to put it down. I'll stick to my Besson 983.

And speaking of Besson, they didn't have jack there! Two tubas, no new ones, no 995's, no 983's........they did have five euphs there, but no prestiges. How do they expect to sell their top model horns when they don't even have them on the floor??? Dissappointing.

The shocker of the convention for me was the Meinl-Weston 551 euph. Being a Yamaha 842 guy, I really wanted to try it out. Great horn, beautiful tone in the lower register and the pedals, but the shocker was the 6th harmonic. The first time I played an F above the staff it was like 40 cents flat!!!! Couldn't believe my ears. I guess they actually figured out a way to make the harmonic in tune. Although that leads me to wonder - what did they sacrifice to get those traditionally-out-of-tune notes in tune? Didn't have enough play time on it................oh well, I'm satisfied with my 842. BTW, the only booth that had an 842 was the pro-winds booth, NOT the Yamaha booth. Interesting....................

[TexTuba]

[Rick Denney]

The silver 606 was not as good as the laquered one I previously tried, which was a real contender....

Must have been the same silver PT-606 that was at the Army Conference. They had both a silver and a lacquer 606 there, and the lacquer example was noticeably better.

I'm curious about your reaction. You love your 1291, you praised the 2155, the 2265, and weren't too impressed by the 606. I have had just the opposite reaction to those instruments, preferring the 606 over the CC 1291 I tried by a large margin. I found the Miraphone to sound very good in the low register but to be very hard to steer. It's the same impression I've always had of 2155's.

I was discussing this with a highly regarded player, and be believes that the 2155 is designed on the same principle as the 2165. He said that the York designs take what you have and magnify it, while the 2165 was designed to take everything Warren Deck could give it. Those seem like divergent objectives. I found the 606 to be Yorkish in that regard--it was easy for me to get my best sound and to steer the instrument. The 1291 felt like a truck by comparison, and one without power steering. That suggests to me that those who are accustomed to powering through their instruments will have different impressions than those of us who want as much help from the instrument as possible.

Nothing right or wrong in this, of course, it's just something that sparks my curiosity.

Rick "who likes tubas that are easy to play" Denney

[Cameron Gates]

The silver 606 was not as good as the laquered one I previously tried, which was a real contender....

Must have been the same silver PT-606 that was at the Army Conference. They had both a silver and a lacquer 606 there, and the lacquer example was noticeably better.

Different strokes. I thought the silver examples at both the Army conference and Midwest Clinic were better playing instruments than the lacquer. I'm still in love with my -606/41.

[Rick Denney]

Rick,

I like tubas that are easy to play, too.

My point was that your definition of "easy to play" may be different than mine. I haven't heard nearly the praise of the 1291/191 instruments from hobbyists like me as I have from horses like you. Usually, my impressions fall close to that of pros, but not always.

Rick "without Doc's credentials" Denney

[Rick Denney]

I finally got to play a B & S PT2PS (?). Loved it!

I played that instrument at the Army conference, and also thought highly of it.

By the way, it's the same instruments as a VMI 3301.

Rick "who has played Kings that played as you describe, but also has played good ones that are much better than your description" Denney

[TexTuba]