New tuba, Jupiter JCB-780L (or Jinbao...)

[Bob Kolada]

Bob,that experience reminds me of my first experience on a rotary f.now I don't look at a tuner.I just play...works for me...regarding the second Partial:that's the whole "low c" thing we talk about...

No, the C was okish. F to Db are all messed up. Every rotary F I've played has been much, much better than the Jin Bao F I had.

[MartyNeilan]

Gotta ask - what mouthpiece were you using? Off the top of my head, I am guessing that you were using a mouthpiece way too big/deep for a medium sized German (style) F tuba.

I did notice in my foolings around that the 2 mouthpieces I had available at the time had a profoundly different effect on the intonation issues. (middle C was waaaay too low on both though) I definitely want to give the horn a fighting chance with a proper F mouthpiece. Any recommendations?

Mirafone C4, Rudy Meinl RM9, G&W Baer F, Sellmansberger Solo #1 or #2 (aka Blokepiece) have all worked well on rotary F tubas for me to produce a characteristic sound.

[RRW]

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[Michael Bush]

In terms of build quality the stays and braces are a bit clunky. I also saw sloppy solder jobs (no big deal) but more importantly some of the more complexly curved tubing coming out of the valves was clearly coerced into place .

I noticed that on my 210 as well. I figure that sort of thing is what we get for the price difference.

[MackBrass]

Regarding the 210: this is an excellant horn and I would recommend speaking to Neptune about getting one. Intonation is very good, if you like the Hirsch sound then you will like this.

As far as the products from JinBao go, here are my thoughts. To start with, these are not 10,000.00 dollar instruments..... just because they are inexpensive does not mean they are cheap.

Build quality, they have come a long way over the past few years and if your a skeptic that has never played one then you need to give it a try. the build quality is great considering how much you are paying for one. There could be inprovements to the instruments on the buffing prior to the finish but still not bad at all inmy opinion. I certainly could not do a better job. One thing you have to think about whenever you have purchased a horn be it new or used, did you ever do anything to that instrument to improve it. Heck, I know someone who has a new thor CC, guess what, the valves stick and they need to be looked at. I had the same issue when I bought a new 2165. Doent let price dictate quality.

Ratings on a 1 to 10 scale includes sound, intonation and quality:

The 410 CC clone, amazing to say the least in all catagories, 10 out of 10.

The 200 BBb german wrap, this is a copy of the B&S stencil which is a smaller copy of the Alex 163 BBb, score 10 out of 10.

The 210, if you like the Hirschbrunner rot BBb, then you will love this. 9 out of 10.

The 600 f tuba, great sound, build quality is fantastic, great upper and unreal low regisiter for a rotary valve F tuba. The down side is that you will have to work on the intonation as the F at the top of the staff rides high. One thing I tell everyone about these tubas is that a main tunning trigger will solve any intonation issues. I score this a 7 out of 10. Bydlo, this is the best high g# I have ever played.

The 700 Eb, here is another 10.

The 1150 Compensating euph, all I can say is oh my god another 10.

The 831 Bass bone, copy of the 830 yamaha, yes another 10

the 810 tenor, smae thing here another yamaha copy and yes another 10.

The 050 trumpet, are you kidding me, this has monel valves for less than $500.00

I am waiting on getting the Alex 103 french horn copy any day now, and if this looks half as good as it plays I will be very happy as well as any F-horn player will be to buy it.
Comments about those who are skeptics on horns coming out of china and to those repairman who say stay away. I have heard it all from "you can't get parts" to "they will not last". My response to that is this. How many junk tubas are still servicable that were built 50 years ago? I have played plenty. Keep one thing in mind, this is metal not plastic. What is it that won't last??? As far as parts go, if you take a look at the 186 clone or the F tuba and compare it with any miraphone you will see the following: Same braces, same rod ends, same springs, same ferrules and standard srews that are on most tubas arriving out of Germany.Are they made in Germany, or, are they made in China for Germany???????

[Wyvern]

Regarding the 210: this is an excellant horn and I would recommend speaking to Neptune about getting one. Intonation is very good, if you like the Hirsch sound then you will like this.

This is a model that will be in my next order from JinBao.

As far as quality is concerned, I have meeting scheduled with the Production Chief at JinBao during my factory visit, so will raise issues I read about here and have been mentioned to me by Tom and Al. I want to be selling good quality tubas and it is in everyone's interest that any issues are sorted. My impressions to date are that some real good instruments now come out of China, but with a little more attention to finishing and checking they could be better.

BTW This is an area where the Beijing company of Wisemann come out tops. I found the finish on their tubas exemplary, better than most European manufacturers and was very impressed to see signed quality check list in case and a computer intonation report. However, they are more expensive than JinBao - the compensated euphonium 3-times the price.

[charvette1000]

If the Jupiter I ordered is not decent (tuning, mechanisms etc.) according to my professional friend, then I'll check out the Jinbao (and buy a bit more expensive baritone horn for my son with the remaining money...).

[corbasse]

..the build quality is great considering how much you are paying for one..

Considering the price I'm certainly willing to accept this level of finish. For my needs and budget I'm not prepared to pay $3,000 extra just to have pretty braces and clean soldering. Things that need to move do so well, those that are not supposed to, don't. It looks like a tuba and sounds like one, if I can play it more or less in tune everybody will be happy.

The things I listed were little defects I noticed and I think people should be aware of them when they order one. If they expect "perfect" build quality because of some of the raving reviews here they'll only be disappointed. Build quality is certainly "good enough" but don't expect much more than that. Yet.

It's like the new car I just bought. It's the cheapest, ugliest big family car you can get over here. I've heard complaints about it from some people, mainly that the finish is too plastic-y and the ride is noisy. Well what do you expect from a dirt cheap 7-seater? Leather seats, walnut dashboard and a 4l V8 engine?
The break down statistics are very good, the parts are all tried and tested designs and QC is rigorously watched over by the factory owner Renault.

The 600 f tuba, great sound, build quality is fantastic, great upper and unreal low regisiter for a rotary valve F tuba. The down side is that you will have to work on the intonation as the F at the top of the staff rides high.

The low register is certainly a blast, and from what I've read here in the past it's quite normal for an F tuba to have intonation quirks. I can deal with that, I played 200 year old horns for a living.

I am waiting on getting the Alex 103 french horn copy any day now, and if this looks half as good as it plays I will be very happy as well as any F-horn player will be to buy it.

I've seen that 103 clone on the jinbao site, I'd love to try one out. If the consistency is better than the original you have a definite winner on your hands