Posted by Graham Smith on May 27, 2002 at 14:09:16:
I've decided to get Lee Stofer to take a look at my early 70's 186 BBb to see if he can fix what seem to me to be some problems with accuractely centering a pitch from about 4th space Eb up and a loss of agility and volume above that level. Last night at our local concert band rehearsal, a guy was there with a more recent (but badly beaten up) college horn, a CC 186 of more recent vintage - it didn't have the "S" linkages that mine has.
I asked him to play mine, and after doing so, he opined that it was a "pretty good horn for a Bb." He also observed that a CC would be more responsive in the upper register. I'd agree with that if we were talking ahout above the staff, but I find this horn's troubles begin lower than that.
This is the same BBb that I had another guy (who teaches and plays a CC Kallison) play a couple of months ago and he thinks there's something amiss because it seems stuffy and loses volume in the upper register.
I played this guy's CC 186 last night and found it to be much easier to center on pitch and much more agile from the upper zones in the staff on upward.
Here's my question. Is there that much difference in centering and agility comparing the same model (186U) Mirafones by simplying raising it to a CC? Range and upper register responsiveness differences I understand but this seems more than that.
(Lee will give me the hard answers about my horn, anyway, when he gets it in a couple of weeks, but I thought I'd ask the folks who know about these performance differences in general, since last night's playing of that CC was my first effort with a CC horn.)
Thanks!