Posted by Dan on June 03, 1999 at 00:58:09:
I'm in a bit of a quandry, and have been for some time; I own two horns, a C and an F. Both are excellent instruments and serve me without any problems.
However, I find myself seeking some "other" sounds which they are not providing consistently. I play a Miraphone 188 CC 5u and love the low range, including response, tone, tuning... But despite the fact that the rest of the horn plays in tune with a big, full, centered sound, I find myself seeking different "colors" in the middle and upper registers which I cannot seem to achieve. The horn is a 95 and has all the laquer (which I am beginning to question the wisdom of). My original thought was to sell it and go for biggest, biggester, biggestest, but I'm not sure I want to go there, nor do I have the funds. I see horns posted every once in a while the make me think, "ooh, if I sell mine I can get that..." The problem with this is that tubas can, but often don't, sell overnight, and Murphy's law says that the tuba you want will always sell faster than the tuba you own. I would be stuck trying to sell a horn which I know works for one which might work. This could leave me out of one very important instrument; a primary C tuba.
While discussing this with a great tubist, he replied, "People buy shiny tubas." Here is the dilemma; do I spend time and money customizing a horn to meet my expectations (ie, stripping the laquer, tone rings...), or do I keep the laquer on and sell my warhorse now for something along the lines of a big orchestral horn which may meet my demands better (the conn 6/4 listed below comes to mind)? Will the percieved value of the horn go down without laquer? Is there some "magic bullet" for my horn which will give it a different wieght or tone the mid/upper register? Am I being too picky of my horn to ask for a different tone? I have experimented with some mpcs, with other horns, with different lip placements, even different playing environments. Despite the compliments of others I am not happy with the sounds I am generating on my horn.
I'd like to hear some of my options because I'm sure others have had similar dilemas.