Meinl Weston 45-SLP

[Tom]

Much like the thread on the Miraphone 181...

The 45-SLP has been out since 1998 or 1999.

When they came out eveyone had to have one...they were being played by some of the tuba world's top professionals in some of the most highly regarded orchestras around the world. All of their students were buying them up, too.

Now, 8 or so years later, the tuba world has been turned upside down, new horns have hit the market, etc., etc., and the 45-SLP seems to have gone by the wayside.

So...anyone out there in tubenet land still got one? Anybody planning to purchase one?

Just curious.

[Tom]

Eventually, I started feeling like I was getting arthritis in my right hand and forearm. I quit playing the 45slp and it went away. Maybe I just had a bad valve set but it was enough that I couldn't live with it even though the tuba had a sound to die for (it probably would have come to that too!)

No, you didn't have a bad valve set.

You and I have had the exact same problem when it comes to playing on those MW/VMI/B&S "big valves."

The problem was dealt with on the 45-slp by the previous owner, Matt Good, by having the the 5th valve linkage, paddle, and thumb ring changed to the type that is on the 2165. He also had the leadpipe relocated/rebent/re-whatever to actually make the 45-slp comfortable to play rather than painful. I had played several 45-slps prior to being able to play Matt Good's and (like you) loved everything about them but just couldn't deal with the ergonomics, so I bought a used B&S rotor F instead. I fought the B&S for a couple years before selling it to find something else, at which time I was able to aquire Matt Good's 45-slp (he switched to a 45-slz). I would never be able to play a 45-slp without the ergonomic modifications that Matt Good had done to it. Although looking at me next to Matt Good you'd never guess that his setup would be comfortable for me, it fits me like a glove and is as comfortable to play as I could possibly expect.

And, as luck would have it, when shopping for a new (to me) CC tuba, I fell in love with another one of those horribly uncomfortable Meinl Westons. I liked the tuba too much to send it back, telling myself that I could get used to the ergonomics, but I developed very painful arm/wrist/finger problems. The problem for me is where they put the thumb ring. I found using a stand has largely eliminated the problem, although I did buy a new adjustable thumb ring from Meinl Weston (mine had the fixed "post" style thumb ring) to have put on, although I haven't actually had it put on yet (long overdue).

I honestly don't know how most people can deal with playing on those big vavle sets as is and I can't believe there are so many horns out there of such tremendous popularity with those valve sets.

[Tom]

Mine both have/came with adjustable thumb rings...

Earlier 21x5 series tubas, early 2000s, and their various other piston valved tuba offerings all came with fixed thumb rings. The current adjustable design seems to have gone mainstream sometime after the year 2000, and is a major improvement over the previous design, in my opinion.