Re: Re: Re: Re: Whats the very best horn out there


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Posted by Sean Chisham on March 25, 1999 at 16:22:08:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Whats the very best horn out there posted by sam on March 25, 1999 at 15:48:23:

The Walter Nirschl 6/4 CC is not based at all on the Yorkbrunner made by Hirsbrunner. It is instead a very close copy of the York tuba sold to the Chicago Symphony by Arnold Jacobs. The Hirsbrunner Grand Orchestral, aka Yorkbrunner, is also a copy of the Mr. Jacob's York. Hirsbrunner originally copied the York in around 1984 and has in the past couple of years made a few modifications to the copy which I believe have greatly enhanced it's playablity. Some state that the more recent instruments don't have the same sound as the earlier instruments, which were possibly given more attention during assembly.

The Walter Nirschl 6/4 was copied in around 1992, while Floyd Cooley and Gene Pokorny were playing musical chairs. Actually Gene Pokorny was on a 1 year leave of absence from the Chicago Symphony after winning the principal tuba position with the Los Angelos Philharmonic. While he was away Floyd Cooley, of the San Francisco Symphony, was assuming Pokorny's role in Chicago. I believe the San Francisco Symphony had the player from the SF Opera playing in Floyd Cooley's spot. Like I said musical chairs!

Well anyway, while Floyd Cooley was in Chicago playing with the CSO he used the CSO's York. Like everyone else who has ever blown a note on those horns, he was immediatelly taken back by it. Floyd Cooley had been an ongoing student of Arnold Jacobs for a good while by this time and had always liked the horn anyway. So he made arrangements with Walter Nirschl to try to make a more exact copy of the CSO York then Hirsbrunner had. The results are the Walter Nirschl 6/4, and in a large part the 4/4 also. They are both fantastic instruments.

If I messed up any of the above details, feel free to correct me. I am going from memory and some circumstantial assumptions.

My personal favorite between the Nirschl and the Yorkbrunner is the Yorkbrunner. This is based on very limited exposure to both horns at conventions and I would confess much more exposure to hearing others play the Yorkbrunner in real world scenarios then the Nirschl. I would like the opportunity to hear someone perform on the Nirschl 6/4 live sometime, but all the musicians in the orchestras near where I live use the Yorkbrunner.

Other options I like for larger horns are the PT-6's and the PT-7's. They come in both piston and rotary valve flavors. Each has gives and takes, but the gives and takes are balanced. The PT-6's would work better for more situations, but the PT-7 is a less expensive alternative to the Nirschl and Hirsbrunner York copies. I believe the price difference is fairly substantial. Something like $3000-5000 less.

The other large horns which people seem to like are the Rudy Meinl 5/4's, a fairly large 5/4 I might add, and the Willson 5/4. I am not too familiar with the Willson 5/4 CC, but a few pros have adopted them.

If you are looking into a loan for instruments in the class I am discussing, then the costs range from $8000 for the Rudy to $16000 for the Hirsbrunner Grand Orchestral. Also figure in $800 for a Walt Johnson Case, $90 for a mouthpiece, and $230 or so for a gig bag.

sean



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