Posted by Lew on July 19, 2001 at 08:28:22:
In Reply to: Silver vs laquer finishes posted by Joe V. on July 19, 2001 at 08:10:14:
The conventional wisdom was that silver plated horns had a "brighter" sound and lacquer gave a "rounder" sound. I have never noticed this to be true. What I have seen, or rather heard, is that an unlacquered horn can have a fuller sound than a lacquered one. Read the excellent description of the tuba bake-off a little further down for some interesting real world comparisons. There are so many variables that affect the differences between horns that it's hard to attribute differences to any one characteristic, but the raw brass M-W 2165 sounded much better than the silver plated one in this test. But, the horn that they liked the best was a silver plated York.
What this proves is that what matters more than lacquer or silver or raw brass is the horn itself. This goes beyond the particular model or design, but individual samples of the same horn will play differently due to variations in the manufacturing process. In picking a horn you need to find the features that you are looking for, then try as many models that match those criteria for sound, playability, and comfort. Then try different samples of the horn that you like the best to find the "one," whether it's silver, lacquer, or raw.
Of course the other reason to go with silver is the way it looks. I love the look of silver plated horns, and that's as good a reason as any to get one.