Posted by Ike H. on June 25, 2001 at 09:43:49:
In Reply to: Rudy CCC mp's and German tuba in general posted by Erik on June 24, 2001 at 10:50:50:
Hi Eric-
To address the bell issue, German-style horns, in general are more cylindrical and American-style horns are more conical. That means that if you look at a Mirafone or similar horn, the leadpipe is longer to the(rotary) valves and as a result will start flaring later in the whole of the "bugle" and usually ending up with a straighter and longer bell to keep with the notion of the general shape of the semi-conical horn. The American-style tubas will conversely have a shorter leadpipe into it's piston valves and start flaring sooner into the rest of the horn, ending up in a shorter, but wider bell. The more technical-oriented guys can probably explain this better, but the rotars are used because they can be a larger bore than pistons and because of where they reside in the scheme of the horn, can compensate for some of the "bite" of the German sound. Rick Denney did a whole web page on these differences a while back and it may(?) be found within the archives of this board. To me, the PT tubas are a kind of hybrid, having properties of both styles of making, and are often available in either rotary or piston versionsof the same model.