Posted by Lee Stofer on June 09, 2002 at 20:43:11:
In Reply to: rudy meinl vs meinl weston posted by me on June 07, 2002 at 22:38:20:
Rudolf Meinl and Gerhard Meinl both are the owners of well-known firms that produce brass instruments, and each is world-reknowned for their tubas. They also have the same last name, but there is where the similarity ends.
What we know here as Meinl-Weston is part of a large conglomerate that also includes the instruments made under the B&S and VMI labels. There are factories in Geretsried, Germany, just South of Munich, and in Markt- Neukirchen, in the former East Germany. Gerhard Meinl is a smart man with a degree in business, and runs a large business well.
Rudolf Meinl and Rudolf Meinl, Jr., on the other hand, are master craftsmen who hand-build tubas in a tiny village in Bavaria called Diespeck. Situated beside the small Aisch river in a farming village, they have only a few employees, and quietly go about their work. On occasions when I was there, I noticed that they do have a number of orchestral players and other professional tubists who come to visit and select a new instrument. They also will restore old, damaged instruments, turning them into a work of art. They are not into huge production, or mass-advertising. They are one of the very few that still individually craft instruments, and in my experience of being in contact with the company or owning at least one of their instruments since 1978, they get better every year. I believe that they have combined the best aspects, using modern equipment in design and testing, while still building a hand-made horn.
Lee Stofer