Posted by ken k on August 06, 2003 at 19:33:03:
In Reply to: Tastes... posted by js on August 05, 2003 at 21:55:42:
Unfortunately it is not just tuba players who keep getting bigger. Have you seen bass bones lately. I call them Tubas on a stick. Granted they have moved more to 9 1/2 inch bells down from the 10 1/2 inch bells of 15 - 20 years ago, but the bores are getting bigger (.562/580.)and even many tenor bone players are playing horns with .562 bores and almost 1 1/2 G sized mouthpieces (Joe Alessi models), while bass bone players are boring out their Schilke 60s for an even more sound. One of my favorite bass bone players is the guy who plays in the Navy big Band the Commodores. I wish I could remember his name. Anyway whenever I hear them I am amazed at the bass bone player and his sound. His sound is always right there. Not too loud and over bearing but always just right and it cuts through when it need to. I talked to him after a gig once and he said the problem is many guys are going bigger and bigger and the sound gets lost. He plays a stock Bach 50B-something and a Schilke 59 and really sound awesome.
One promising fact is that alto bones are making a bit of a come back, but they are usually only used for specific repertoire. So it is hard to say when the madness will end. I am not a proponenet of the "bigger-is-better" school of brass playing. Although I do have a big Edwards bass bone but I use a 59 and a light weight bell for a lighter more trombone like sound.
The problem is you have a few "freaks" out there who can play the big equipment well and get a great centered sound with that style of horn. Then every other wannabe tries to mimick that person by buying the same horn because "so & so" plays it, but they just can't cut it so we are left with many people playing horns that are too large for them.
Sorry I got a bit off track with the bass bone discussion but the parallel is obvious. It must a a "Macho" or as you say Harley -Davidson thing. I was at a recent audition and all the guys/gals that were there were practicing their excerpts as loud as possible and I kept thinking "Are these guys/gals actually listening to what they are playing?"
Let's pray the end is near. I mean just how much bigger can things get?
ken k