Posted by Jay Bertolet on January 18, 2000 at 10:34:52:
In Reply to: Does Size Matter, Some Observations posted by Swami on January 17, 2000 at 19:17:18:
You pose some interesting questions! Here is my take, for what its worth.
1) Unless I'm mistaken, Warren used a huge Holton in the finals of his successful audition for the NYPO but the bulk of the audition was played on his smaller Meinl Weston. It would seem that the larger horn was more of an added touch rather than the mainstay instrument. After winning the job, he started work on his "Frankenstein" tuba which, even though it is an early 1900's Conn, didn't sound at all like the larger 6/4 tubas we hear today, at least in my opinion. Then he switched to the 2165 and now he plays on a Nirschl York copy. I myself own both a 4/4 and 6/4 CC tuba. The sounds are very different. I think that recording techniques still leave something to be desired when recording a tuba sound and I would not characterize a good 6/4 sound as having a lack of clarity. That being said, one of the most noticable differences in the two sounds is the "feel it" factor attached to the larger tubas. I feel like I have to work much harder on blending when I play my 4/4 tuba because it is so much more directional in sound quality. Bottom line, in my opinion, is that you have to decide what you want to sound like and go that direction but it helps to be able to sound both ways and then pick and choose which one works for different pieces. Both sounds have obvious strengths and weaknesses.
2) Audio technique has improved considerably but in my experience, the problem is not so much in the recording technique but in the mixing room. The orchestra I play in does what are called "Local Sustaining Radio Broadcasts" which is just a fancy way of saying we tape our concerts and broadcast them over the radio once each during the season. I can tell you that what I hear over the radio has almost no resemblance to what is on those tapes. When we do a particularly good take on something, sometimes I'll go and ask the recording engineer after the concert if I can hear a little of the recording. What I hear is pretty close to what I heard on stage. But when these things are broadcast, forget about it! They sound so watered down and bland. I can't explain why that is but I do hear the difference. Same thing when we recorded the Mahler 1st. I heard some of the original tape and it was pretty nice. But the released CD had major differences to the original tape. I can only assume that the mixing studio has taken its toll. One of the things that seems to disappear the quickest are the extremes of sound and that might account somewhat for the lack of clarity you are hearing in 6/4 sounds.
3) I'm constantly confused by the question of what direction American tuba playing is going because there seems to be a paradox in effect here. Alot of orchestral tubists are using very large equipment as their main instruments. But if you look at the equipment players used when they won the audition, it is usually medium to small sized. It also seems to me that more players are doing solo work on F tubas than ever before. When you look at the old Bobo, Phillips, and Bell albums of 20 and 30 years ago, you're seeing mostly CC tuba playing. This seems to indicate that players are using progressively smaller equipment. Admittedly, we are talking about solo versus ensemble playing which are very different. But most auditions require some solo playing as part of the audition and there is still the fact that players are auditioning on medium to small sized equipment and then switching to the bigger stuff afterwards. There are also many conductors who are very much against the 6/4 type sound. Consider the recent discussions on this BBS concerning Ron Bishop and what he's going through in Cleveland. My honest take is that there is no one direction that American players are going yet. You can find players in both camps, both soloists and orchestral players. Just because certain tuba models have become popular (2165, Yorkbrunner, etc.) doesn't mean that a particular sound is dominating. Maybe your comment about individualism is exactly right, maybe each player works within the system he's a part of.
Sorry for the long post, I just found this particular topic very interesting!