Posted by Jim on November 01, 2002 at 22:01:50:
In Reply to: Finding an Eefer posted by Matt Goosen on October 28, 2002 at 22:20:30:
Hi Matt,
I have owned a Willson Eb for a year and a half or so. I also played a B&S pt4r before that. I will say that if you are looking for an all around horn that happens to be in the key of Eb than the Willson might be the right choice. I would recomend trying one first for sure as you have heard of Barry's experience with the 3400.
My opinion of the horn is a little different than his but that is what you asked for different opinions. The spare parts kit is an extra set of felts and valve springs. The horn also came with choice of a Marty Erikson mouthpiece.
I have found the horn to be very versatile with different mouthpieces. I use a Doug Elliott "P" cup and a PT50+ for the big sound. Keep in mind also that I have played most of the Eb tubas on the market and I put the Willson on top of them all but that is if you are looking for a big Eb. The low register is the very open and I find I can hit lower notes on my 3400 than I was ever able to get to on my PT4. THe 5 valve fingerings are very good for me once I learned the alternates. I use the short slide extender and it works out like my CC did. The fingering combinations are the same as most CC 5v tubas except you just get different notes for the same fingerings. 523 can replace 24,123 for E,A natural.54 or 14 for A flat 534 or 134 for low F sharp 5234 for pedal F 51234 for pedal E natural. That is about the only combinations I use the 5th for.
The upper register has a couple of alternates that help and work pretty well. I found the high G# an octave about the staff works well played 51 and the Bb above that can be played a little easier with 4 or 54.
The only advice I can give is to try one out. They are tall and some people find that to be a problem. I have no trouble with the height but I use a DEG tuba rest and the valves are great. I find them very comfortable but that is just me. Like many have said you have to try one for yourself. I did do a comparison of both the Willson and the 983 with a friend who plays and there is a big difference in sound between the two horns. I won't say one is better than the other but I find the Willson would win out in a larger group and can still solo just fine with a smaller mouthpiece. There is one thing I found from a friend that owns a 983 is that some have a tuning quirk where they run a little flat with the slides all the way in but this can sometimes be corrected with a mouthpiece change.
The best thing you could do is take the time to make a trip and try them all out and pick the one you like the best.
Good luck,
Jim