As one would guess, all the normal people were there...Conn, Holton, Yamaha, Bach, etc. I was pleasantly surprised by the Holton euphoniums. There is a full line of euphs. from Holton and if you take a look at the valve buttons, you'll know right away who makes them.....the "Made in Brazil" sticker helped, too!
The Jupiter people were as nice as always. They still haven't made the Euphoniums large shank, but there is rumor of a CC tuba in the works. Maybe we'll know more after NAMM.
I always love to spend some time at the Mollard Baton booth. I'm a terrible conductor, but the woods are so pretty, and these are people that know their sticks!
The booth that really took up all my time was the M&M booth. Yeah, Custom is here, and TubaExchange is here, but the M&M booth had some nice horns and some GREAT guys...Michael Bassichis and Ron Bishop. Mike has done some great things by getting instruments that are affordable and play well...and Mr. Bishop....well you can't find a more generous and kind person....he even told me I sound good...he did it with a straight face and everything!
I didn't get to play every horn Mike had a the booth, but everything I played was a good horn and built well.
The BBb's all had a warm sound and solid slots. One of my biggest complaints about many BBb's is that they won't slot well. This isn't the case with M&M instruments. I was quite pleased with what I played.
The 6 valve F tuba was AWESOME! I played this horn the most! The low C, and Bb are as solid as any Yamaha I've played, and the sound of this horn is just beautiful. It's possible to get a very smooth lyrical quality as well as some real punch when needed. There are some pitch issues. I played a few things and Mr. Bishop and I talked about how to deal with some of the pitch things. To be entirely honest, when I used the fingerings that I would have to use on my old B&S, this horn played right down the middle. So, for less than half the cost of a B&S you could get a horn with 6 valves, more solid low end, and the same fingering chart! This tuba would come home with me at the end of the conference if I wasn't a poor music educator!
The CC tuba that looks like a "Piggy" was also an interesting little guy to toot on. I must say that little CC tubas have never been my thing. They are too honky for me. The tuba has some serious bite to the sound if you let it go. The scale for this horn was a little odd, but I have to admit I played it with all the slides in and didn't mess with it much. I wanted to play the F tuba again! I'll go back tomorrow and play the CC some more.
The 4 valve non-comp euph was also a great buy and an even better player! It was just a stellar instrument.
Only time will tell how these instruments will last, but I've had a lot of instruments put in my hands over the years and the M&M instruments felt every bit as solid as instruments that have come out of my favorite German factories!
I'd like to post a picture of the booth with Mr. Bishop, but my laptop doesn't have the software to res down the image from my camera. If anyone wants to go to my website....just remember what my students call me...Mr. Russo (no period) and you'll NET the site. Click on the class photos link and grab the images. Res them down and e-mail them to me and I'll post them here!
More info later!
mr
I feel so ordinary....and it's really nice! 
