MellowSmokeMan wrote:It would be difficult to hold a tuba without the left arm. Chopping off a leg may be more beneficial to your playing career.
Hmmm. Arm. Leg. Both have three letters, and he DID type three letters, didn't he? I just WONDER what OTHER three letter word he could possibly have meant.
MA, who would not like to chop off any three-or-other-letter-count bodily part for any reason, and who really should wrap it up and go to damn rehearsal before she types herself into a corner
On a more serious note I don't see horn fads that are quite as intense as the tuba fads appear to be. The latest horn "fad" is triple horns, and I think they are here to stay. People who own them have a better tool to use for the high register, and are more likely to win auditions if the committee is listening for cracked notes. There are several makers who sell triples now, of varying quality. Some custom horn makers have a sereral-years-long waiting list. Really. And those horns are not cheap.
Many high horn players in regional orchestras still use doubles, and some of the top level high horn players in major orchestras do too, but many are oozing towards the triple because after the year or so to get used to it, it is just easier to play.
Of course many amateurs also own triples, which helps their playing and also helps the custom makers stay in business.
In response to the first question....I LOVE the FAFNER!!!! As A B flat boy this horn just rocks. I will admit that I have always felt better playing MW horns. It is probably all psychological, but I'll go with it. The only problem I have had with this horn, and I know a lot of us B flaters found ourselves here: The horn really became available the same time the Euro took off. If I could have bought one at the original prices I saw in 2000-01, send it home. But the exchange rate pretty much kept me in the used market.
I have a savings account though!
Paul Weissenborn
St. Joseph Symphony Orchestra (MO)
Spirit of Independence Band
SJSO Quintet
Alex 163 CC
YEB 321S
MaryAnn wrote:Hmmm. Arm. Leg. Both have three letters, and he DID type three letters, didn't he? I just WONDER what OTHER three letter word he could possibly have meant.
Good to know I wasn't the only one wondering about that -- it was starting to drive me ... well ... um ... "crazy" (yeah, that'll work!).
"Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." -- Pogo (via Walt Kelly)
Again, those OLD DESIGN "tall" East German rotary BBb's ("cheap" Alex knock-offs) play like a million bucks...
My high school had one, and it played horribly due to the cheap brass it was made of. granted it was a little dented up however, i prefered the schools fiberglass sousaphone to it.
My high school had one, and it played horribly due to the cheap brass it was made of. granted it was a little dented up however, i prefered the schools fiberglass sousaphone to it.
Maybe your local music store could replace the cheap brass parts with fibreglass. Making perfect copies of those dents in the fibreglass, though...That would be quite a trick.
Might be able to make RTV molds off the brass parts, do wax castings and lay-up the fiberglass over those ...
"Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." -- Pogo (via Walt Kelly)
