Posted by Joe S. on June 15, 1999 at 23:41:52:
In Reply to: Feedback on Yamaha Tubas posted by Don on June 13, 1999 at 19:05:11:
I've posted this before about the Yamaha 3/4-size so-called "professional" instruments. I think the reason that they are, as Ike (I think) put it, "blase" [Whoops!, I tried to use the "alt" to get an accent mark, and got blown off of the website!], is because they (the 3/4-size F, CC, and BBb "pro"'s) are nothing but adaptations of the Yamaha student model "100" series BBb's. I feel like I have the right to express an opinion about this, because I BOUGHT a 3/4 CC once, played it ONCE in a quintet Xmas job, hated it, and dumped it. I have also spent extended hours with a friend's 3/4 Yama-F "trying" to like it, but alas, no Viagraetic results whatsoever. I believe that these Yama-3/4 size things have funny response (centering) problems too, besides the no-tone thing, and far more intonation problems than one would expect from tubas that tiny. To boot, their pistons almost always have the predictably chronic Yama-sticking problems. (Back when the Dukes of Dixieland still owned Mahogany Hall on Bourbon Street, I had my first encounter with one of the 3/4 CC models. Their tuba guy had a 3/4 CC. I took his place one night - impromptu - for the two last sets, and spent half of the time manually pulling pistons back up from their bottom positions.) Sam Pilafian, when Empiring in Memphis with one, failed to "sell" the 3/4 CC instrument, aurally, and the same disappointing sound came out of another one when the Chestnut guy brought his here. When I taught at the University of Kansas, the band director, Bob Foster, ordered in a couple of the big BBb rotor jobs. After being horrified by the intonation of some of the notes in the staff (Has anyone ever listened to themselves play the upper "g" on one of those things?!), I encouraged him to send them back. I haven't played the CC "cutdown" version of that horn, but I cannot imagine that a (basically) "factory cutdown" would play any better in tune than the BBb original version. Anyone have better results with the big Yama rotor CC than my suppositions?
I kind of think that it is about time for Yamaha to "punt", although, as a tuba player, I am (truly!) grateful for ANY manufacturer's efforts to produce nice tubas, and don't pretend to have any "answers" myself, just strong opinions, a hacksaw, and some solder.