Re: F or CC for *only* horn


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

Posted by Joseph on December 28, 2000 at 23:21:29:

In Reply to: F or CC for *only* horn posted by Torn! on December 28, 2000 at 22:12:20:

If it were me I would hold on to the CC and wait for a truly great F tuba at a good price to come your way. This is all personal opinion on my part but for me I'm not willing to go into debt unless I'm head over heals in love with a horn. It's a royal pain to learn a horn that you aren't excited about and if you sell it to buy another horn you probably won't come out ahead financially and may well lose out. I would prefer to get it right once and invest all that time into a horn that I'll keep for thirty years. This probably wasn't the response you were looking for but give me a moment and I'll flesh out my reasoning for you.

I've had moments in which I felt that I could do everything just fine on my F and didn't need a CC but as my sensibilities have refined(take the refined bit with a grain of salt ;b) I'm beginning to lean more the other way. I think that a good F tuba is great for solo and orchestral work because of its commanding characteristic sound but that those same traits don't jive quite as well in a quintet setting, although still very functional, unless handled masterfully. I use my F in quintet mostly because my large CC is too much work to attain the kind of compactness and clarity that comes easily on the F. On the F I have to work a little harder to create a solid sonic foundation. I think the ideal solution for me would be a small CC in quintet. I've used my F in a band setting and it does work but it isn't all that satisfying especially if you are the only tubist. Granted you could get by as one of four but I think that you would find that your small CC is a better horn for that type of playing as well.

Also, for many people switching to F is a very time consuming task. It can take a while to blow all the clams out of any new horn and if I were in your shoes I would want to keep that small CC for when things start to get hairy.

Answer, Short Version: Keep the CC, I think it will better serve you as a primary money horn. Stay patient and keep your eyes out for a good deal on a great F if you feel that is something you would eventually like to learn.

Once again, these are only my opinions and are subject to change as I get better.

FWIW,
joseph


Follow Ups: