Wessex Prague " Pocket Kaiser"

[GvB]

Has anyone out there played one of theses horns? I know they are Chinese made and that they are sold by others who stamp their name on them but this particular horn looks a lot like a MW 18 copy, a horn which I love but cannot afford.
Any feedback would be appreciated.

[bigbob]

ask Neptune he sells them and plays them too.......BB

[arminhachmer]

ask Neptune he sells them and plays them too.......BB

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

OK, i give up. What is a Pocket Kaiser? A tuba, a baritone, a sandwich?

[bigbob]

How about Jumbo shrimp or CIA or pocket kaizer<s>BB

[MartyNeilan]

A figure of speech in which incongruous or seemingly contradictory terms appear side by side; a compressed paradox.

Examples of an oxymoron:

Pocket Kaiser
Microsoft Works
United Nations
Political Correctness
Linux Complete
Music Television (MTV)
Living Dead
Artificial Reality
Rap Music

VERY well done, sir!

[Wyvern]

OK, i give up. What is a Pocket Kaiser? A tuba, a baritone, a sandwich?

It's an oxymoron

A deliberate oxymoron!

Small tuba to carry - BIG tuba sound

[Dan Schultz]

.....BIG tuba sound

Just how BIG is it?

[bort]

Is this basically just a Piggy?

Jonathan, one other suggestion, based on other Chinese tubas I've tried (I haven't tried any Wessex products though, so maybe you've already fixed it) -- make better thumb rings! Even Cerveny thumb rings are pretty bad... I think they should be thicker, smoother (no "sharp" edges), and a little bigger.

[Lectron]

A deliberate oxymoron!

Small tuba to carry - BIG tuba sound

Oh, I'm sure it is

But if compared to a small BBb....
It does have a large valve bore, but it does also sport a long leadpipe.
What is the bore at the MTS? I would estimate the leadpipe to be around 30"
and then quite a bit of cylindrical tubing through the MTS

But...It looks like a fun instrument

[NCSUSousa]

.....BIG tuba sound

Just how BIG is it?

Answer found - Same as Cerveny CBB783 - Approximately 34" Tall.

[bort]

Probably around 32" then... that's about the same height as a Yamaha 6-series, or a Cerveny 653. Might be the same height as a Piggy, but I can't remember!

[GvB]

Thanks to all for their not so very informative feedback. However I fail to see the humor

[Lectron]

It has some similareties with the Thomann Bb- Tuba Model "Student"



802mm high, 400mm bell. £1192 inc. VAT seems pretty reasonable priced too

[Wyvern]

It has some similareties with the Thomann Bb- Tuba Model "Student"

I don't know where that is made, but it is not JinBao - they do not use red brass. Also that is a model made by multiple factories. For example I have seen them made at Huashen - look the same, but do not play so well.

It is strange how Chinese brass factories seem to copy each other

[Tubacube]

Wonder if Dalyan is making those for Wessex? Looks like the Dalyan Prague tuba!

[Lectron]

It has some similareties with the Thomann Bb- Tuba Model "Student"

I don't know where that is made, but it is not JinBao - they do not use red brass.

No of course they don't. They would use an identical ally referred to as Gold Brass

[Wyvern]

No of course they don't. They would use an identical ally referred to as Gold Brass

Gold brass and Red brass are quite different - Red brass is higher copper content and looks copper in colour. Picture I previously posted of Gold brass Neptune against Red Brass Cerveny clearly shows difference. I have visited Thomann when in Germany and seen what they are selling - it is Red Brass

[Lectron]

Thanks for clearing that up Neptune
I was totally fooled by the jinbao picture of gold brass

trmb&tuba.jpg

[ghmerrill]

Here's a quote from a horn site (http://www.rjmartz.com/horns/) concerning the distinctions among yellow, red, and gold brass. It matches what I've seen elsewhere (except in various sales/marketing literature ):

Several terms are used popularly to describe brass alloys depending on the percentage of copper content: "red" brass contains 85 to 90 percent copper and 15 to 10 percent zinc. At the other extreme is "yellow" brass with about 65 percent copper and 35 percent zinc. In between are "rose" brass (lighter red) and "gold" brass (darker yellow) which are sometimes used interchangeably with each other. The metallurgy industry uses specific terms such as Alloy C83400 (90% copper, 10% zinc) to avoid ambiguity.

I've elsewhere seen the distinction drawn as: yellow brass, ~70% copper; gold brass, ~80% copper; red brass, ~90% copper. A "golder" color is also often achieved by using a specific lacquer.

Some people call yellow brass "gold brass", some people call red brass "gold brass", some people call some in-between alloy "gold brass". Red brass and rose brass are generally regarded as the same. The red/rose stuff is pretty soft (as expected with all that copper in it). My Cerveny 781 certainly was, as was the bell on my Holton TR181 bass trombone.

[Doug Elliott]

And to make it even more confusing, in the metal industry, the alloy that is 90% copper/10% zinc is known as "commercial bronze."