Posted by Steve Inman on April 03, 2001 at 18:56:36:
In Reply to: F or Eb????? posted by Paul on April 03, 2001 at 12:55:12:
I'm a former BBb player who has switched to playing Eb exclusively (for now). I'm playing the Besson 983 Eb. My opinion is that you should go for an Eb or an F that will provide you with a different sound than you presently have. (Others like to maintain exactly, or as closely as possible, their SAME voice when switching to their bass tuba. I think Jay B. is in this school of thought.) If you have the cash, the Willson 3400 Eb is an incredible Eb tuba, with a very full, dark voice, and is easy-blowing even in the low register. Most of the other Eb tubas are of a compensating design that makes the lower register (below BBb) more stuffy than you'll be used to with your 191. The Willson will give you a similar type of sound as you're getting with a big BBb.
My approach would be to buy something different, to provide you with more options. If you can adapt to the compensating Eb design, the Besson 983 is a nice choice. If not then an F tuba might work, but be advised that the low CC and BBb notes (and maybe one or two others in this range) tend to be "weak-speaking" notes on most F tubas, requiring quite a bit of work to master. Having said this, I've heard "masters" play F tubas in this range quite well -- I just have trouble with these notes. Now, the Yamaha YFB-822 doesn't seem to exhibit the same characteristic in this range, nor does the YFB-621 or the Willson F (3200?). But the 822 and the Willson will again have a "bigger" sound -- and maybe not quite as different from the contrabass sound as *I* would prefer.
If you want a VERY different sound, go with the YFB-621. It's an incredible little F tuba, but it is little. It has a compact 3/4 type of sound -- more euph-like than any other tuba I've ever played except for the Besson 777 3/4 Eb with the 13 inch bell. Yet the YFB-621 does not sound the same as a euph -- it's just a lighter, more compact sound than most other tubas. If you're playing solos, duets, trios, quartets (and maybe quintets), ESPECIALLY if you're playing upper register passages quite a bit, the Yamaha YFB-621 should yield good results.
My impressions and thoughts, FWTW.
Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN