Posted by Eric on December 11, 2003 at 21:39:52:
In Reply to: Re: False tones vs. extra valves posted by Rex Roeges on December 11, 2003 at 18:32:14:
All my tubas are old, and they seem to have much better false tones than newer horns I've tried such as the Conn 52j and M-W 2145. I think its because the old horns are smaller bore and can lend some brilliance to a false note to make it sound better. I have a junky old Getzen GG bugle that is basically an Eb tuba plus 10 feet of .560 bore cylindrical tubing and it has the most incredible ability to make any note sound brilliant, real, false, glissando, etc. Now horns are designed with a bore large enough so that one can actually blow through enough tubing to play those lower notes with valves, killing the false tones, making the horn play flat up high, and making the tone probably a little too even from soft to loud. It's 2 steps forward and 1.5 steps back.
Electric tuba is frightening, especially when shifted down an octave, amplified with 1400 watts, and reproduced with a speaker designed to call elephants in the african wilderness with infrasound from 20 kilometers away.