Re: Fiberglass upright tuba


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Frederick J. Young on April 23, 2001 at 08:35:11:

In Reply to: Fiberglass upright tuba posted by Greg Crider on April 22, 2001 at 01:31:52:

The best fiberglass sousaphone I ever played was a Holton. I also tried a fiberglass Conn
at the same time. A crowd of music educators were following me as I tried various tubas at a MidEast Conference in Pittsburgh about 30 to 40 years ago. At the end of the exhibit were sousaphones. The Conn rep persuaded me to try his fiberglass instrument. It was bad, bad and sounded even worse than the Quenon tuba! The Holton rep said to be fair I must try his also. I was really amazed at how good the Holton fiberglass sousaphone was. The people following me were also impressed and said the Holton sounded better than any of the tubas I had tried.

The bottom line is that it does not matter what material is used. The important thing is the proper taper and good construction. Also, there is no reason that sousaphones can't be as good or bett than tubas. In fact, one would expect them to be better because the bends are not as sharp.


Follow Ups: