Posted by Jay Bertolet on August 09, 2001 at 12:05:15:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: purchasing a CC... posted by Rudy 3/4? on August 09, 2001 at 10:12:10:
I've played a number of 3/4 Rudys and they are just as amazing as the 4/4 horns. If I had the extra dough, I'd be looking for a 3/4 myself as I think this is one of the best choices as a quintet horn. That said, I've known many players who own this horn and, depending on the player, they use that horn for everything from solo to large ensemble work. If I had to compare the Rudy 3/4 and 4/4 horns to other manufacturers, I'd say the Rudys are a little oversized. Let's say 3.5/4 and 4.5/4 for example. One of the nice things about the 4/4 is that it can be a bigger sounding instrument without losing the agility you expect in a mid-sized tuba. It works fine in delicate situations and it holds together really well when you drop the hammer. The beauty of the 3/4 is that it can offer nearly as much sound as the 4/4 while still being a really great solo and quintet horn, better in that capacity than the 4/4 in my opinion. I know a couple of symphony players who use this horn as their primary instrument, including John Olah. For me, I wouldn't hesitate to use a 3/4 in my orchestra, especially for works requiring a more hard edged approach. I mentioned in an earlier post that John uses his when he subs for me or plays second. I also love to play this horn in quintet. The only reason I don't own one is that I never had the opportunity and the cash at the same time. But I'm being patient because the 3/4 has another advantage over the 4/4: when Rudy redesigned the 4/4, they changed the overall wrap slightly to address intonation issues. In my opinion, they ended up trading one set of intonation problems for another and they also lost some of the best part of the sound in the process. That's why I don't recommend the new 4/4 CC tubas like I do the older ones. I think they're still good tubas, just not as good as they used to be. Fortunately, the design was never changed on the 3/4 or 5/4 tubas which both remain as excellent choices in their respective classes. So I continue to lay low and wait for the day when I can convince my wife to part with some more of our hard earned dough. ;-)
My opinion for what it's worth...