Posted by Rick Denney on March 04, 2003 at 13:27:04:
In Reply to: What if.... posted by Tabor on March 04, 2003 at 12:20:39:
With these conditions:
-Money is not a consideration.
-Key is not a consideration.
-Only so-called 6/4 tubas are considered.
-Only playing characteristics are considered.
The last constraint is a big one. I define playing characteristics as those factors that affect how easy it is to get the desired effect on the tuba in question. Intonation, sound, resonance, feedback, and so on are all factors in that, but the primary filter for me is ease of play.
With those conditions, my pick of the litter would be a Yorkbrunner, based on one example from many years ago. My second choice would be a properly converted York such as the examples Dave Fedderly was selling a while back. Then, I'd choose a good Holton 345 (I've played half a dozen, and I own the good one, if you get my drift). I don't get much feedback from the Willson, though that's my only beef (other than ergonomics). I've never been able to make any sort of decent sound on any 2165 I've played, and likewise for the Neptunes. The one Neptune I compared side-by-side with my Holton was not on the same planet.
Before making the choice, I'd try several others, too: Rudy Meinl 5/4, Meinl-Weston Fafner, and Gronitz PxK.
But all have some inconsistencies, so sample variations could account for my ordering. And if I had a chance to play them all side-by-side instead of here and there over a period of years, I would likely end up with a different personal ranking. I played the top three in my list at different times and places, and my ranking borders on arbitrary.
Ease of play is a good parameter for second-rate amateurs like me. I have no talent headroom that will fill in gaps for my own weaknesses. If a horn exposes a fault, I'm powerless to cover it up. For me to do anything useful with a big horn, it had better be easy to play. A great sound is no benefit if I can't play the right note or support it with enough air.
Of course, for me both money and key were constraints, though I play-tested many CC big tubas and might have made the switch had the right deal on the right tuba come along. I looked at them casually for many years, and was seriously considering them for at least the last two or three years. For what I paid, my BB-345 is close to a miracle.
Rick "being presumptuous as usual" Denney