Posted by Steve Inman on December 22, 2000 at 00:40:40:
In Reply to: Re: Large Eb vs. Small CC posted by Scott on December 21, 2000 at 10:18:07:
Roger Bobo responded to a question I posted about 3 or 4 years ago on the tubaeuph list and stated that: 1) If you could only own a single horn, he thought a large Eb would be the best all-around tuba you could buy, and that 2) although he owned a couple Eb tubas, he rarely used them himself, instead preferring to play his F tuba(s) primarily, and other custom built horns (D, G) when the piece suited these. His philosophy seemed to be to pick the horn that sounded best for the music being played.
As a result of his opinion, I bought an Eb (sadly not a large one) -- the Besson 983. It works well for quartets and quintets (and for solos -- eg. Patrick Sheridan), for small pit orchestra, and passably for a 12pc brass choir I also play in. But the compensating low register is causing me difficulties and I'm wishing that I had either saved up the money to buy the Willson, or had purchased a 4/4 CC like the 186-5U Miraphone, or may be the 3/4 Rudy Meinl I've also heard good things about. Of course, these would probably be a little large for my quartet -- so I'd also need a 3/4 or 4/4 F.
So, my gripes about the 983 are the compensating low register and the awkward fingerings I occasionally encounter in multiple sharp keys -- A, E, etc. To it's credit, it's a nice modest Eb with lovely tone in the upper register.