Posted by Joseph Felton on March 03, 1999 at 08:06:21:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: what about getzen tubas? posted by Leland on March 03, 1999 at 00:43:43:
In regards to the length of the 5th valve slide it is my understanding that VMI offers the option of a 5th valve tuning slide that can be tuned to either one or two whole steps by the addition or removal of an extension. If you look on the VMI web page it appears that many of the horns can be equiped with this option. Custom Music appears to be pretty good about having this option standard on all of the Perantuccis that they sell but I can't imagine that it would be all that difficult to have a second slide made or, if you have a VMI tuba, to order one from the manufacturer.
Regarding the use of the whole step 5th valve as an attempt to easily convert your CC to BBb I think that this is much more a marketing gimick than something you would ever actually want to do. In my limited experience goofing around with this concept on a PT-3 and a PT-6 as well as based on the anecdotal evidence provided by others on this board.. it just doesn't work all that well. Intonation, response, and sound all go out the window when you try to play a horn like this.
just my two cents,
joseph