stupid F tuba questions

[barry grrr-ero]

Well thank you gentleman. I certainly didn't expect so many helpful comments in so short a span. I've learned several things. One, I should definitely consider older B&S F tubas that crop up. Two, I should also consider stepping up to the "Norwegian Star" Eb. I have heard Baadsvik live, and he was Baadass on that machine. We're talking about at least a year away, after we make our much needed move (love S.F. - been here for years - but the rents are astronomical). By then, there might be one or two more good Asian knock-offs at reasonable prices.

Even though I know lots of solo pieces of Eb tuba, I would welcome the challenge of learning them new on F tuba. But then again, why bother if I had the Norwegian Star and would be pretty much, 'up and running'? Thanks guys.

[imperialbari]

Not to spoil any games, but Øystein Baadsvik does not play the Norwegian Star. He plays this one:

http://www.miraphone.de/en/en_modeldeta ... 6&v=1&l=en

Which does not detract from the Norwegian Star as an option for you. ØB is an immensely strong player, who prefers resistance as this gives a faster response, and who also has the power to overcome the flip side of resistance like a tougher low register.

The wider (and dual) bore of the Norwegian Star would be a benefit for your wish for a tuba taking care of the lighter contrabass repertoire:

http://www.miraphone.de/en/en_modeldeta ... 6&v=1&l=en

Klaus

[Dylan King]

The new PT-10 copies are fantastic. Really good.

[bort]

How is it compared to a B&S?

[Rick Denney]

However the OP knows Eb and has two purposes to be filled, but a budget for one tuba. Hence my reference to the Weltklang Eb, which isn’t that common in the US, so I mentioned the nearest sample known to TubeNet.

The Norwegian Star seems to me to be a great tuba. But they are not as cheap or plentiful as older B&S F tubas. I've never seen an example of a Weltklang Eb tuba.

That's the only issue with finding an Eb. Eb tubas that really stand up to the comparison with the better F tubas haven't been as plentiful and tend to attract higher prices. Before those came the British-style Eb instruments, which do not fulfill requirements, and before that are instruments that I would not want to recommend in general. I have not looked at the for-sale section, and I recognize that exceptions are always possible.

Rick "who once paid a hair over $3000 for an excellent, used B&S F tuba" Denney

[imperialbari]

Well thank you gentleman. I certainly didn't expect so many helpful comments in so short a span. I've learned several things. One, I should definitely consider older B&S F tubas that crop up. Two, I should also consider stepping up to the "Norwegian Star" Eb. I have heard Baadsvik live, and he was Baadass on that machine. We're talking about at least a year away, after we make our much needed move (love S.F. - been here for years - but the rents are astronomical). By then, there might be one or two more good Asian knock-offs at reasonable prices.

Even though I know lots of solo pieces of Eb tuba, I would welcome the challenge of learning them new on F tuba. But then again, why bother if I had the Norwegian Star and would be pretty much, 'up and running'? Thanks guys.

This was why told about ØB and the stars.

[Ulli]

I've never seen an example of a Weltklang Eb tuba.

Look here:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Tuba-in-Eb-Es-We ... 19fbb0dd33" target="_blank" target="_blank

...and I have one too.

Ulli

[bort]

Thanks Joe! Very interesting to see the emergence of a high-quality lineup of Chinese-made tubas, and seriously, if the other brands can learn a thing or two about the linkages they will do themselves a huge favor.

Having tried a selection of Chinese tubas a few weeks ago, I found the rotary linkage lacking on all of them. Funcitonal, but certainly not as good as the rest of the horn was. (I won't even mention, beyond this, the head-scratcher of the "rubber band linkage" for a certain tuba's 5th valve... )

[MikeMason]

So,I would like to up grade the linkage on my mack f. Y'all think b&s links (or packer if available) would easily fit?i know some folks have upgraded miraclones in different ways. Anybody? Those spring loaded b&s ones seem pretty awesome.

[imperialbari]

The US’ economic problems are small compared to those imposed on Greece by a corrupt system that lies big time, Putin-style. The Greek population wants the other Euro countries to pay for the crimes of the past Greek governments, which in turn affects the Euro badly.

This is not a political statement, but a factual description, which is of the outmost interest to American TubeNet members, who are thinking about buying a new instrument from the Euro countries (Germany in this present case). 1 Euro today costs around 1.06 USD, which is the best rate for you since several years.

I am in the opposite situation. Not that we have the Euro, but our currency is linked to the Euro with a max fluctuation of 2% to either side being allowed. So some planned for acquisitions from non-Euro countries have to be delayed.

Klaus,
who is not attempting to make decisions for the OP, but tries to find relevant suggestions following the terms the original post laid out.

Edited for better grammar to help precision of the semantics.

[barry grrr-ero]

Hey, that's pretty exciting about that Ford/Hudson/Packard PT-10 knockoff. I'm sure the linkage would be good enough for my nearly 60 year old right hand. It also would be a good challenge for me to learn those pieces over on F tuba - I think.

Barry "you guys are great" Guerrero

[itai]

Just a small thing about these B&S F tuba clone pictures that appear quite frequently - I'm pretty sure it's a PT15 clone, and not a PT10. My eyes are not keen enough to distinguish between the minor differences in the slightly larger bell/bottom bow, but the leadpipe is of a PT15 for sure. The PT10 leadpipe's outer appearance hasn't changed from the really old B&S models: It's parallel to the bell and has a steep fall to the 5th valve, while the PT15/16's leadpipe is descending at a much earlier stage.

[MaryAnn]

A friend of mine has a Norwegian Star and it would be my tuba of choice if I could afford one.

[pjv]

About the Weltklang Eb, I've never played one so I'm making an assumption;

being a non-compensating 4-valved Eb it seems to me that the low E (2nd partial) would be (practically) inaccessible, unless the 4th valve slide was tunable to 6 semi-tones (2nd p. A) AND the 2nd p.Bb and 3rd p. F were playable with a 1&3 combination.
And this is a pen&paper assumption. In practice I've no idea if a 6 semi-tone 4th slide would allow for a functional chromatic scale in the 2nd partials (again assuming that the 1&3 combi's are in tune).

And that 2nd p. low E is really necessary for a lot of music.

My two drachma's