Posted by Gary Press on January 21, 2002 at 13:57:06:
In Reply to: Rudy Meinl CCC Piston posted by Billy M. on January 21, 2002 at 12:29:33:
Hmmm, the biggest strength of this tuba.....in a word.....tone. After reading such high praise for the Rudy CCC on this BBS, courtesy of Dave Zerkel, Mike Russo and Sean (to name a few), I sold my Rudy 5/4 to get this horn hoping to gain all the advantages of a medium - large piston CC without having to lose that Rudy sound. The gamble paid off bigtime!
The tone that can be produced on this tuba (and on Rudys in general) is unlike that of any other tuba maker I know of. It is rich and full with a nice balance of fundamental, middles and highs in the sound. It is flexible enough to cover many different playing situations. The pitch is excellent.
The low register is indeed a bit tight, but not an insurmountable issue. No instrument is perfect and a little resistance in the low register is something I was willing to live with. The middle and upper registers play like a dream.
From what I understand, the valve section and some of the larger branches are made my Nirschl and the bell is made by Rudy (don't quote me on that). The valve stroke is fairly long but not as long as the Meinl-Westons. Also not a major issue.
All in all, one of the finest CC tubas I've played. I tried a MW 2000 recently and loved it. Great tuba! But it still doesn't have the Rudy sound.
I can't recommend this tuba highly enough! Now I'm just hoping they decide to make a 5/4 version next!