Big Rudy in Trad Jazz setting

pwhitaker · Post by **pwhitaker** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:48 am

The State Street Trad Jazz band of Portland Maine recently recorded our gig at the Portland Museum of Arts' jazz brunch. I used my recently acquired 5/4 Rudy BBb for this gig with the 35.5 mm titanium mpc that Ivan made for me. I'm interested in your opinions on the balance between this horn and the rest of the group.

http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=1091199&t=3754

Steve Inman · Post by **Steve Inman** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:33 am

Nice performance by the group. Initially, it's actually a little hard to hear the tuba from the position of the mic in the audience, but that improves as the piece progresses. So you aren't overpowering the group from a volume perspective. For my taste, there could have been even a bit more tuba in the mix -- but the room sounds to be large, so this may have been a case where a lot of your sound went up instead of towards the mic. And while the tuba's voice is big, it seems to me that there are few tubas that would be "too big" to use in traditional jazz, in light of the many Bb Sousies that have been used in the past.

Nice playing, nice sound, fine horn for this genre, imo.

Cheers,

poomshanka · Post by **poomshanka** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:49 am

Hard to guess what it might've sounded like live, as the recording quality seems a little "guerilla", perhaps? On the playback, you sound kinda distant and a bit unclear relative to the other instruments. I could feel the weight of the 5/4 when you dug in the spurs, but overall, I would've liked a little more clarity from the tuba, especially with the other players producing some pretty direct sounds.

Of course, this might just be a function of whatever recording setup was used. Although the balance/blend might need to be heard live to render a more accurate judgement, from a musical standpoint, the playing is very nice!

...D

Tom Holtz · Post by **Tom Holtz** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:56 am

Good stuff! In a museum, presumably with tall ceilings, your sound certainly goes straight up and not out to the mic in the audience, so it's a bit deceiving from this recording. There's probably plenty of sound up on the bandstand. You may get the reverse problem in a venue with a very low ceiling. You'll sound fine out front, whereas on the bandstand, the only thing anyone hears is that big Rudy, and the other guys will be begging you for mercy.

If your Rudy is like the 5/4 BBb's we used to have here in D.C., your biggest issue will be clarity, not balance. Getting those old girls to speak clearly (and on time) meant putting a strong front end on each note. It's a bit more work than you might want, but it's hard to argue with that sound!