Eb versus f

[brassbow]

I am sure there are posts but searching proved fruitless. So eb versus f and why .... Please thanks ( or as they say in Germany ..... donkey shorts)

[opus37]

To answer the question, we need more information. What do you play now? What do you want to do with a bass tuba? How much are you willing to pay? How much work are you willing to put into learning a new set if fingerings?

Both will solo and play in quintet very nicely. If you are thinking concert/marching band work or British Band then Eb may be the better choice. If you are thinking orchestra type stuff, then may be an F is better. If you don't know or are just starting a discussion/fight between the two camps, well......

The real answer is, it depends on a lot of things.

Personally, I like the Eb, but I use it for everything. That's just me.

[eupho]

I can play both keys but I do prefer EEb. I think it because I am a euphonium specialist and it is like reading treble clef.

[jeopardymaster]

I don't mess with F tubas anymore, be the venue solo, orchestra, band, or whatever. For high stuff, I go to my Eb. If that is too big, I go with my Mirafone 56 and call it a tuba.

[brassbow]

Discussion, not fight. I also kept it vague for unbiased opinion. Personally I preffer eb as (for me ) Bb and cc tend to be less responsive( again to me). I have noticed an Effer is treated as the same as a mellophone/alto player sitting in with the French horn in many groups I have played in. Once told a player I play f just to avoid hassles

[bighonkintuba]

I really like your new signature picture! Was the cat able to back out of the horn without assistance?

Discussion, not fight. I also kept it vague for unbiased opinion. Personally I preffer eb as (for me ) Bb and cc tend to be less responsive( again to me). I have noticed an Effer is treated as the same as a mellophone/alto player sitting in with the French horn in many groups I have played in. Once told a player I play f just to avoid hassles

[bort]

Discussion, not fight. I also kept it vague for unbiased opinion. Personally I preffer eb as (for me ) Bb and cc tend to be less responsive( again to me). I have noticed an Effer is treated as the same as a mellophone/alto player sitting in with the French horn in many groups I have played in. Once told a player I play f just to avoid hassles

Does "Effer" mean Eb (like "eee-fer") or F (like "ef-fer")?

My opinion: Eb's are for British people. (it's a joke)

[Wyvern]

The Eb (Effer) is arguably the most adaptable pitch of tuba - can be used for virtually any tuba music.

The F is nice for some music, but is more of a specialised tuba.

Funny - when I was at ITEC earlier this year and heard Patrick Sheridan playing his Eb, I felt quite at home - the characteristic sound of an Eb was quite comforting to this Brit

[toobagrowl]

Eb tuba just 'lays' better for me -- it better fits my sound concept and type of playing I do. Perfect for quintet

[Donn]

We should celebrate diversity.

[ppalan]

Hi,
I play Eb a fair amount. I have a Yamaha YEB-321. I don't know if all of these horns are good but mine is very good. The low register is especially good and intonation overall is excellent. I decided to get this horn (over an F) a number of years for a couple of reasons. First, when I found myself having more need of a bass tuba I tried out a number of F's as well as Eb's. The Eb's I tried seemed to me to have fewer issues with "bad" notes and intonation than the F's. Second, (and maybe this should have been first) I started playing tuba back in elementary school on an Eb and although I hadn't played one in the intervening years the fingerings came back pretty quickly. Since I had a number of gigs coming up that I wanted to play on a bass tuba, I needed to be "up and running" quickly. The Eb provided the quickest solution. Third, I found that in the orchestra I could make it blend very well with the trombone section. It's use in Brass Band and even occasionally in Concert Band was almost a no brainer. The Yamaha is actually capable of producing a pretty big sound when necessary. I think this is due to it's bore size which goes from .689- 7xx (not really sure). The bottom line for me is that the Eb works well for me with a minimum of problems. That said, I'm still looking to get an F because at my age I need the challenge of learning something new to keep my mind in shape. Hope this is helpful.
Pete

[brassbow]

Note about the cat, he went in on his own. Look at my avatar pic. I primed the mp with kitty treats

[cambrook]

It's hard to compare Eb vs F in some ways - there is more similarity in sound between some Eb and F tubas than there is between some F tubas (or some Eb tubas).

As an example, a rotary Eb like the Norwegian Star is closer in sound and playing characteristics to a rotary F tuba, while a large piston F like the MW2250 is closer to a Boosey style EEb.

[hbcrandy]

When it was time for me to learn bass tuba, my teacher, Paul Krzywicki, had just come back from a tour of Japan with 3 Yamaha non-compensating EEb tubas. I got one. Paul said that he liked the sound and intonation of the EEb. EEb tubas were also cheaper than the F tuba. So, I got my start.

Over the years I admired John Fletcher's sound on the EEb tuba. It was big, dark and sounded like a tuba. I thought that many of the European F tubas sounded like a euphonium.

I stuck with EEb tuba over the years. It did everything that I needed it to do, Berlioz, Stravinsky, Cesar Franck, etc. My current EEb tuba is a modified York, Monster EEb with a .690" valve bore with 4 pistons and a fifth, flat whole step rotor. It has been a joy to play.

Some other players sound GREAT on F tuba. I admire them. But, EEb works for me.

[Mark E. Chachich]

My opinion:
I do not think that there is any versus for E flat and F (or BB flat and CC). When I was taking a shot at full time playing jobs (mid 1970s to the mid 1980s) I got a very nice old York Monster E flat because it was a good tuba and I could afford it. Very few people back then wanted old American E flats so they were inexpensive. I found that it did what I needed a bass tuba to do so I stuck with the E flat. That was the only reason that I went with the E flat. If I would have found a good deal on a good F before I found my E flat, I would being playing an F now. Also, I made a lot more money on contrabass tuba so the bass tuba was always a secondary instrument for me.

Mark

[Steve Marcus]

Neptune wrote:

...when I was at ITEC earlier this year and heard Patrick Sheridan playing his Eb, I felt quite at home - the characteristic sound of an Eb was quite comforting

It was hearing Pat Sheridan play Eb live and on his recordings (on one of them, he ends "Serenade" on the Bydlo G#/Ab) that was a significant factor in my choice of a Besson 983S as my bass tuba.

[bort]

I like the Baadsvik (sp?) kind of Eb sound more than the Sheridan kind of sound. It seems like in general though, Eb's have fuller low registers than F tubas.

That said, there is something completely thrilling to me about hearing an expertly played rotary F tuba in the low register (e.g., Willi Brandstrotter). I like that sound so much, from time to time I consider buying and using only an. F tuba as my only horn. Probably not a great idea, but I'm just a dude who plays the tuba, and not a pro or a student with any reason or responsibilities to make practical decisions. I can just follow my ear if I want.

[tubeast]

The discussion of Eb vs. F, in my surroundings, boils down to one between a German-type rotary F vs. British-style compensated Eb.
The latter will team up with a band´s BBbs to form a tuba register, the former will close the gap in sound between BBb tuba and oval baritones / tenor horns in polka bands like "Die Egerländer".

So on community-band level around here the choice of horns greatly depends on the preferred literature and whether the two Tuba parts are just written in octaves or as two separate voices.

In this context it´s comparing apples to oranges, or Melton 2045 CC to Fasolt BBb.

[Jay Bertolet]

It used to be that this topic was distinctly different than the typical BBb versus CC conversation. Nowadays, I see it as exactly the same. There are so many different designs of both Eb and F tubas that trying to assign universally distinct qualities to either horn just isn't possible. As always, it comes down to trying them out and buying what works best for you.

[Mark E. Chachich]

Jay,

+100

Mark