Posted by AW on February 20, 2004 at 13:43:33:
In Reply to: Opinions On Yamaha 621 CC posted by David Nondahl on February 18, 2004 at 09:48:18:
I have played this horn a few times, including a TubaChristmas (upper tuba part). My teacher (Mike Milnarik) owned it. He can get a huge sound out of it when he wants, and uses it a lot in his brass quintet. I found it pretty easy to play; the intonation is good and the notes slot well. Having only four valves is a limitation, especially having to play all those Db's with 24 fingering. The first and second valve slides are readily accessible when playing. Mike reported to me that Canadian Brass' Chuck Daellenbach (who uses this horn) advised him to keep the fourth valve slide pulled out, to compromise between between fingering 4 for D, and 24 for Db. For the low F, (14 fingering) lipping down is more possible.
This horn has no false tones worth mentioning. When Mike loaned it to me, he also loaned me the small Mike Finn MF4 mouthpiece to use instead of my usual large MF3. He said that I would have trouble centering pitches using a large and deep mouthpiece. As usual, he was right.
Mike is considering getting another one, and having a fifth valve added. He has been quoted around $1000 for that modification.
Even though I enjoyed playing the horn, I would not buy one myself, as I found the playing position very uncomfortable for my right wrist, which started hurting after a while. I think that's an example of how much you have to see that a horn fits you personally. Others find it quite comfortable. It is also relatively light, and a simple strap can be used when standing.
Allen Walker