Posted by Jay Bertolet on February 04, 2003 at 08:55:03:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Gronitz PCK a BAT as we know them? posted by JoeS on February 04, 2003 at 00:46:36:
I'll hazard a guess and speculate that it wasn't RM that started the whole fractional designation for tubas. I'll bet it was a marketing ploy that was created by Custom Music, who was the sole US distributor of RM products at the time. That's just a guess but it does fit with the known facts.
By the way, I don't think this whole fractional business is necessarily a bad thing. While it is easy to get obsessive with any designation system, the fractional system we use with tubas serves to give a quick, relatively accurate assessment of the general nature of a given instrument. It's only when we, as consumers, start investing too much importance in such designations that the quibbling begins. Who knows, maybe next we'll be referring to mouthpiece sizes in fractions as well. ;-)
My opinion for what it's worth...