They are very nice tubas. I have sat next to a few players who sounded amazing on their MW 2155/2000s. However, I don't think that the 6/4 "lap sousaphone" craze is going anywhere anytime soon. There are quite a few people who like that warm, omnidirectional, enveloping sound of the 6/4 tubas. Especially since the current trend in popular music is extremely "bass" heavy and it seems to have "conditioned"people's ears to expect the same kind of sound out of acoustical brass instruments. The classical recording industry has really influenced this as well. Think about some of the professional brass quintet recordings available today. When you listen to the recording through your headphones or through a high quality playback system, the tuba is sometimes mixed in such a way that it "thumps" and "rattles" the floor. Then, when you hear the same group perform live, the tuba sound is completely different. It's still awesome, but a completely different timbre in some cases. So when you show up to rehearse with an F or Eb tuba, many "colleagues" will say something like, "man, you sound great, nice and clear, but we could use some more depth, like XXXX recording." So then you are forced to do acrobatics on a 6/4 tuba
Maybe a shift in the "orchestral" field? However, it sure looks like more and more players across the world are switching to the 6/4 York style tubas. Maybe it's a "fad." However, people have been saying that for years. Since before I even started playing the tuba. I am not defending any type or style of tuba, it just seems like a 6/4 tuba is a "necessary" tool in today's world.
) and don't remember the mouthpipe feeling particularly big to me, but it did have a strange receiver from the factory. It played very well and recorded great. Very clear sound and I thought it could make plenty of noise for band and orchestra use.