Posted by Lew on November 13, 2003 at 17:04:57:
In Reply to: Feedback re: Harvey Phillips Holton ??? posted by Jon E Erikson on November 13, 2003 at 10:42:41:
I used to play a 2 piece King and have since switched to the new 1 piece King. I tried one sample of the Holton, but found the King to be more responsive. Of course the only way to know if it would work for you is to try one yourself. Either could work for the playing you describe.
That said, for the type of music you described I would think that a good Eb tuba might be a better choice. It would be lighter to handle for Dixie or Polka work, should work well with a quartet or for Jazz, and would be fine for the occassional band or wind ensemble work. I would think that a larger Eb, like the Willson would be ideal for this, but it is a bit pricey. There are a few other new horns available too, but I haven't tried any of them so can't comment on their properties.
An older Conn, King, or similar 4 valve Eb, especially their "monster" models would be great but are hard to find. I had a 4 valve, front action York monster Eb that would have been a perfect horn for this, but have since sold it. If you keep looking something similar is likely to pop-up at auction. Older 3 valve horns on the other hand are plentiful and inexpensive, so you might try picking one up to see if you are comfortable with it.