Posted by Rick Denney on December 13, 2001 at 12:41:21:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Why is low range bad on F's? posted by Steve Dedman on December 12, 2001 at 23:26:02:
I don't think that's it, though I would, of course, welcome Matt's insight. (By the way, most of the tuba sellers and several of the manufacturers read this forum, so David should understand that the question has already been asked.) The effect I get on low C's on many F tubas is a vastly greater effect, and much more consistent across the range of instruments, than the different feel associated with the sharp edges in my first-valve slide.
And, as I say elsewhere, I don't think it's size. My small Yamaha doesn't have this problem at all, and I don't think it's because it is better made or with fewer internal flaws. It must be some key issue at the root of the design. As I have also said, it may well also exist on contrabass tubas of similar design (it certainly does on my Miraphone). But it is masked because the low F is a low note in the absolute sense, and we are already accustomed to thinking of having to work on low notes specially. A low C, on the other hand, is a normal note for anybody on a C or BBb tuba, but a low note on the F. So, when we go to the F expecting that C to respond like it does on our big horn, we are disappointed when it doesn't. This should be expected; that low C is even harder to make sound good on a euphonium.
Some instruments put it all together in such a way that the low notes on the instrument are more solid. The low F on my York is far more solid than the low F on my Miraphone, just as the low C on my Yamaha is much more solid than the low C on many F tubas that I have played.
It may well be that the price we pay for that solid low C is unacceptable. By that I mean that the German F tuba sound, which is so beautiful in the upper register, may well result from the same features that weaken the low C.
I like my Yamaha mostly because I can approach it the same way I approach the BBb, which makes it much easier for me to play. Because it is easier, I stand a better chance of getting the right notes with at least a decent sound, and can therefore devote more of my limited powers to the music. I have played F tubas that I thought sounded better on many notes, but I have never played one (save the Willson) on which I thought I could make better music.
Rick "needing all the help he can get" Denney