Posted by Art on October 08, 2000 at 08:36:27:
In Reply to: Cerveny BBb tubas posted by Jacob on October 07, 2000 at 10:00:28:
I owned two Cervanys: a huge BBb "kaisertuba" and a CC "piggy". They were both very free-blowing, due to the huge bore, and a bit sluggish in valve action, due to the massive rotors. They dent easily and are not built to take a beating, and the rotors need to be cleaned periodically (as do all rotors) which takes some time. The BBb had an open F (second line from top of staff) that was quite flat, which is a common problem with Kaisertubas. The CC was very flat on open E. Both problems were easy to solve with alternate fingerings. On both instruments I lengthened the first valve finger paddle, which made it much more comfortable to use. (I don't know about you, but my index finger is shorter than my middle finger. Not many manufacturers seem to be aware of that.) Anyway, that modification is easy to do and does not mess up the appearance of the horn. There are other Cervany models in BBb which I have not tried. I did honk on the Cervany helicon and loved the way it plays. Their prices are pretty reasonable by today's standards.