Rotary vs Piston

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TubaofGilman
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Rotary vs Piston

Post by TubaofGilman »

Why is it that most professional tubist play piston tubas?
Mack Brass 410 CC and St. Petersburg 3v Eb
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windshieldbug
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Re: Rotary vs Piston

Post by windshieldbug »

I didn’t.
Pros play for the sound, not the valves.
Instead of talking to your plants, if you yelled at them would they still grow, but only to be troubled and insecure?
GeoffC_UK
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Re: Rotary vs Piston

Post by GeoffC_UK »

I have both piston and rotary on my two horns.
People have written about the differences:
https://www.normans.co.uk/blogs/blog/pi ... difference
https://www.trumpethub.com/rotary-valve ... -trumpets/
https://www.jpmusicalinstruments.com/ne ... ton-valves
https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instr ... sm004.html
etc., etc.

My own opinion?
I prefer pistons simply because that is what I was brought up with. I can do most valve maintenance myself.
If I was playing something slow, low, or melodic I would choose rotaries.
But, if faced with a presto passage with lots of notes, I would go for pistons.
As windshieldbug says, sound has top billing, though.

Dreaming, and if I had limitless funds, I would remove the mechanical linkage of a rotary valved tuba and replace it with micro-servos.
The result would be very interesting.....
TubaBeage
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Re: Rotary vs Piston

Post by TubaBeage »

It has been done with limited success. https://urish.medium.com/designing-3d-p ... 38dcb65b39
I guess the fun of playing is mastering the skill needed to get the result you want.
The logical conclusion of the argument is to put a CD on and enjoy someone else doing it better!
This attempt at t'bone amused me. https://blog.arduino.cc/2020/12/29/the- ... -trombone/
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