Posted by Jay Bertolet on January 16, 2002 at 10:54:33:
In Reply to: Re: looking to buy MW2155 posted by Jeff Hicks on January 15, 2002 at 20:45:35:
I have to agree with Jeff here. While there may be many fine 2155 tubas out there that I haven't run into, the ones that I have played were not horns that I would own. Recently, one of my students visited me when he was home for Christmas break. He brought with him the horn his group (he plays with the Air Force Band of the Golden West) provides for him to use. It is a 2155 and he asked me to try it and tell him what I thought. I couldn't get the low F to center at all on this horn, no matter what fingering I used. It had a nice sound in the middle range but the high range had some strange quirks as well. I played the horn for about 5 minutes and handed it back to him and told him that I was amazed that he sounded as well as he did on the horn.
The bottom line is that any horn/mouthpiece/player combination can be effective. The trick is finding the other two components that match best with you. If that's a 2155, best of luck to you. Today, the vista is too large to just go by what other people say. The options are too numerous for anyone not to go out and try every possible horn they can. Only a fool wouldn't take advantage of the opportunity to get a horn that practically is a custom fit for them, especially when you consider the kinds of dollars involved in purchasing your own horn. Get out there, try horns, and get the best fit for your money.
My opinion for what it's worth...