Posted by Rick Denney on January 08, 2002 at 18:58:24:
In Reply to: Vespro anyone? posted by Joseph on January 08, 2002 at 17:44:04:
I used to own a Vespro. It was a brand imported by Orpheus when they were in the tuba biz, and it was made by VMI. (Mine said "Made in Klingenthal, West Germany"! Of course, Klingenthal used to be in East Germany, heh, heh). The one I had had a nice, open fourth valve wrap, even though it was a bit smaller than a Miraphone. I thought it was better than my battered Miraphone, but not quite as good as my overhauled Miraphone (I played the Vespro while the 'phone was being redone). Mine had a really flat and fuzzy fifth partial, and I built a tuning stick on it to push in the main slide from a thumb ring adjacent to the first slide so that I could tune the C's and D's on the staff. The sound was good, though, and little less Miraphone-esque than, well, a Miraphone.
I sold mine to a church in Austin, where it is still used regularly.
All it all, a competent tuba similar to the VMI 2103-like tubas of about ten years ago.
Rick "whose Vespro was recommended to him by Lee Hipp and was the first demonstrator in the U.S." Denney