Re: Newer tuba models are missing ________ .


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Posted by Alex Fan on August 14, 2003 at 02:11:09:

In Reply to: Newer tuba models are missing ________ . posted by thread-man on August 14, 2003 at 01:31:29:

Tone color.

There's nothing like the sound of a good Alex in the hands of a great player. Older tubas (particularly those used by orchestra players) tend to be made of thinner metal, allowing for far more overtones to come through in the recipe of frequencies. These older instruments often have intonation problems and change sound quality with dynamic variance. Modern tubas are rarely as interesting to listen to; made of MUCH thicker metal, they supress or eliminate the higher frequencies - creating the popular "dark" tone associated with many newer instruments. These newer instruments can attribute their timbre consistency throughout dynamic changes to this decrease in upper overtones. With brass instruments, increased dynamic often is characterized by increase in the presence of upper overtones. By eliminating the upper overtones with heavier horns and mouthpieces, the timbre will be more consistent, both through registers and dynamics. The second issue with many newer horns is the "corrected" intonation. Older "out of tune" tubas often sound amazing. Modern players (for employment reasons) have moved away from these out of tune tubas to modern ones that do not present such challenges in performance. The draw back is that by "correcting" the open pipe of any brass instrument toward more equal tempered intonation, the end result is lessened dynamic of overtones that benefitted from standing waves, amongst of things, within the instrument.

Musically, dark is best represented by a greater amount of balance in a sound toward the fundamental. In older instruments, a player could arrive at a dark sound through much practice and still retain the upper overtones that made their sound interesting to the listener. Modern tubas (particularly those that are mass produced) arrive at a dark sound by getting rid of the upper overtones, producing a powerful, less clear, bold sound that is simply more boring than older instruments.

There are many reasons tubists are willing to pay premium prices for "handmade" tubas like the MW 2000, Hirsbrunners, and Nirchl Yorks, among others. Whether the purchasers know it or not, they are getting thinner, older-style instruments.

Music is about sound - so go for the best sound. Better tone color (i.e. more ingredients in the sonic recipe) not only helps in ensemble blend, but makes a player than much more special than the next guy.

Olders tubas (or similar modern instruments) in the right hands can be incredibly exciting to listen to, and can help give a "voice" to the performer. Many modern instruments on the other hand present uniform, bland "tuba" sounds, giving almost every player the same "voice."




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