Rudy Meinl CC tubas -- 3/4 vs. 4/4

[tcy14]

Hi all...

I know I am a Johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but I did want to chime in, as I have had the chance to play on a number of Rudy's including the 3/4 (which I knew as an RM-15). The others; RM-9 4/4 CC & an RM-2 5/4 BBb

I concur with all I have read in the post regarding the 3/4 CC Rudy. Responsive and easy to play and due to the size a very comfortable horn to hold. One thing I will add regarding the bore size of the 3/4 CC. The earlier version was actually more like a smaller 4/4 CC with a bore of .750. This is the horn I once played and wish to this day I still owned the horn. The newer version of the Rudy 3/4 does have the smaller bore of .730. I am not sure when Rudolf Meinl made the switch from the larger .750 bore to the smaller .730. I have not had a chance to play the newer version of the 3/4 CC and I wonder if it would be as versatile as the older (larger bore) version, which could easily go from smaller ensemble and more than hold its own in orchestra performances.

Additionally, the 4/4 over the years has had a similar bore size reduction. The RM-9 4/4 CC I played had a bore of .812. The beast was the 5/4 RM2 BBb; the bore was listed as .920 but surprisingly it very free blowing and responsive for such a large horn. The volume of sound...wow! Petal notes vibrated the room! My only regret about the 6/4...wish I had spent the extra $$$ and purchased the 5 valve version.

I have checked out the latest tubas on the Rudolf Meinl website and the site does not list the bore size of any of their current line on the main page. If you click on the blue picture in the column on the right side it will bring up a "pdf" document with more information and pictures. They also do not show any of the piston valve (other than the 4/4 CC 4345) tubas they manufacture. I have added a few pictures of some of the current line of tubas: 4/4 & 5/4 piston and the 6/4 (5 rotary valves), all three are BBb. They also make a 6/4 piston (4 + 1 rotary) version. As I understand it, any of the BBb line (piston or rotary) of tubas are available in a 5th valve (right hand) option.

In all cases I loved playing on all three of the Rudy's.

Tom

P.S.
If anyone knows of an older Rudy 3/4 CC or a 5 valve BBb for sale, please let me know.

[bort]

Never too late to chime in! I have no knowledge about the evolution of the bore sizes, but that's interesting. I hardly doubt my lungs would handle a .812 bore very well, so I'm glad to have a newer 4/4 (early 90s?). The only thing I've heard is that the top bow of the 4/4 was changed somewhere along the way. People say that it helped the intonation slightly, but changed the sound slightly. I've only played the one I own, so I have no clue if that's true or not.

The one thing I can say about the 4/4 is that it likes attention. If you play every day, it's your best friend. Play less often, and it'll make you work for it for the first few minutes, then it's cool again.

I'm not sure if there's a direct link anywhere, but here is a link to an undated RM catalog:
http://www.rudolf-meinl.de/fileadmin/te ... ospekt.pdf" target="_blank

I'd like to see the 6/4 4+1 BBb!

[chhite]

Lee Stofer has a 1980 ¾ CC that is in fabulous shape. It's a one-owner horn and he still has a copy of the owner's original sales receipt. Give him a ring if that interests you.

[bort]

I just realized, I never posted a 3/4 vs 4/4 photo here. So, here is my 4/4 and Sam's 3/4, from last summer. Seems apparent from the photo, but in person, it's an even more well-defined step in size between the two horns (both physically and in terms of sound).

That 3/4 is just plain an amazing instrument, but it always felt about an inch or two too tall for me.

rsz_1img_4287.jpg

[tcy14]

Never too late to chime in! I have no knowledge about the evolution of the bore sizes, but that's interesting. I hardly doubt my lungs would handle a .812 bore very well, so I'm glad to have a newer 4/4 (early 90s?). The only thing I've heard is that the top bow of the 4/4 was changed somewhere along the way. People say that it helped the intonation slightly, but changed the sound slightly. I've only played the one I own, so I have no clue if that's true or not.

The one thing I can say about the 4/4 is that it likes attention. If you play every day, it's your best friend. Play less often, and it'll make you work for it for the first few minutes, then it's cool again.

I'm not sure if there's a direct link anywhere, but here is a link to an undated RM catalog:
http://www.rudolf-meinl.de/fileadmin/te ... ospekt.pdf" target="_blank" target="_blank

I'd like to see the 6/4 4+1 BBb!

This is the link I mentioned in my post. Not sure of how old it is, but I do know the Rudolf Meinl site has been updated recently.

[tcy14]

Never too late to chime in! I have no knowledge about the evolution of the bore sizes, but that's interesting. I hardly doubt my lungs would handle a .812 bore very well, so I'm glad to have a newer 4/4 (early 90s?). The only thing I've heard is that the top bow of the 4/4 was changed somewhere along the way. People say that it helped the intonation slightly, but changed the sound slightly. I've only played the one I own, so I have no clue if that's true or not.

The one thing I can say about the 4/4 is that it likes attention. If you play every day, it's your best friend. Play less often, and it'll make you work for it for the first few minutes, then it's cool again.

I'm not sure if there's a direct link anywhere, but here is a link to an undated RM catalog:
http://www.rudolf-meinl.de/fileadmin/te ... ospekt.pdf" target="_blank" target="_blank

I'd like to see the 6/4 4+1 BBb!

As for the bore size. As you can see from the website link; the bore for the 5/4 size of botht he BBb & CC and the 6/4 BBb is listed as .866. The big difference listed is the bell size; 20" for 5/4 and 22" for the 6/4.

I do not know the bore size and have not found any listings for the picton valve BBb. In the link it does show the bore size for both the picton and rotarty valve 4/4 size CC as .768.

[Rick Denney]

The difference in bell size between the 5/4 and 6/4 is carried through the main bugle.

The 6/4 is enormous, while the 5/4 is a more conventional kaiser size. Here's Ray Grim's CC 5/4 next to my Holton BB-345. Both are dwarfed by the Rudy 6/4.



Rick "the miracle of the 6/4 is that it can be played at all" Denney