Re: matching CC and F equipment


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Posted by Doug Whitten on March 10, 2003 at 00:09:04:

In Reply to: matching CC and F equipment posted by mark on March 09, 2003 at 16:01:15:

My F and CC are quite a bit different in terms of size and sound, although both are German and rotary. I chose the little itty bitty Meinl Weston 182 because it sounded completely different than my Mirafone 186 CC tuba (which I no longer own). The difference is even more exagerrated now that I have a larger B&S PT-6.

Given that I have about the same range on CC and F, it made sense to me to have contrasting sounding tubas. However, some people don't choose an F tuba for its tonal color, but rather, to gain confidence in the upper register. A good friend of mine who is a professional symphony player told me that he doesn't want the conductor to notice when he changes equipment. He definitely fits into the category of players who does not value a contrasting sound as much as more confidence in the upper register. Consequently, his F tuba is one of the really big ones.

Who is right? I am... at least for my own sound ideal. As has been said before, you need to choose for yourself.

By the way, I am not really sold on the idea that you need to own multiple tubas to be a professional tubist. For years and years, nearly all professional (orchestral) playing was done on CC only. I bought my F initially to do solo work on, but really, it was because I thought it would be cool. I now value the instrument greatly, but could have gotten by just fine on my older 186.



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