Posted by Steve Marcus on January 17, 2004 at 20:48:10:
When I tried some of the tubas from China three years ago, it was virtually impossible to play a diatonic scale on most of them. Now that musical instrument manufacturing in China is exploding, the quality is improving quickly.
These impressions represent my personal opinion after briefly playing each horn. I didn’t have nearly enough time to conduct a full examination of the tubas at NAMM, so these comments will be, admittedly, limited in their scope. There was also not enough time to evaluate quality of construction, but none stood out as having extraordinary fit and finish.
These are listed in alphabetical order using the brand name engraved or assigned to each tuba. The manufacturer/distributor is also listed because the brand names are likely to change under different circumstances.
HUNTER: from Tianjin Longxing Huanyu Import & Export Co., Ltd. (www.longxing-china.com) I played a Model 6480L 3 top-action valve BBb tuba. The tone was acceptable, but the horn was stuffy for most of the range. The horn is much too tall and unwieldy for a student—even more so than the Yamaha 321. My Laskey 30H barely fit into the receiver. No price available. The catalog also shows other tubas that were not on display:
Model 6472L: 4 rotary valve BBb
Model 6482L: 3 rotary valve BBb
Model 6481L: larger bore (unspecified) 4 rotary valve, listed as both CC and BBb
Model 6478: BBb sousaphone
SONATINA LOS ANGELES: from Valuetone Musical Instruments, Inc. I passed this booth as the Show was closing, so there was no time to play the tuba. “Los Angeles” is engraved in small letters under the Sonatina name; who knows what that means.
WISEMANN: from Beijing Deyong Musical Instruments Co., Ltd. The representative explained that these tubas are also marketed by Woodwind & Brasswind under the brand name ALLORA. In deference to Roger Lewis, I will not make specific comments about each horn. It was impressive, however, that they had 11 tuba models on display, including a CC and an F tuba! No other booth displayed more than one tuba model from China. The Model 202011 BBb tuba had an astonishingly full tone in the low range. Surprisingly, the model with the most consistent intonation and tone quality was the ¾ BBb Model 202008 4 front-action piston valve tuba; it was one of only two piston valve models (the other was a 3-banger front action). All of the models are listed and described at www.dymusic.com.cn except the Model 206010 BBb sousaphone.
XINGHAI: from Beijing Wind Instruments Factory (www.cbwif.com.cn). On display was a Model 5904 3 top-action piston valve BBb tuba. It played fairly in tune, but slightly stuffy. Positioning the horn was ergonomically awkward. The thumb ring placement made no sense; it was immediately next to the first valve. The retail price is $820. The other tuba listed is a Model 5905 3 rotary valve(!) BBb tuba.
ZAL: from Ai Ling (Tianjin) International Trading Co., Ltd. I played a Model AL-319(3P) 3 top-action valve BBb tuba. It played fairly well in tune, but broke up easily when higher dynamics were attempted. Tone was stuffy throughout the range. The logo was upside down. No price available. The catalog also shows other tubas that were not on display:
Model AL-319G: 4 rotary valve BBb
Model AL-319C: 4 rotary valve CC
Model AL-319(4): 4 rotary valve, key unspecified
Model AL-322: BBb sousaphone
As a general summation, fair or not, the Chinese tubas are at the level of quality commensurate with Yamaha student tubas of 25-30 years ago.
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As the Show day was ending, I had a brief encounter with Howard Miyata and the new 5/4 Kanstul BBb tuba (not from China!). It had a nice, round sound. Howard pointed out the accessible 4th valve slide that had nearly a full-step effect on the tuning. At my short height, I found the tuba to be a little unwieldy. But given additional time, it would probably be possible to become more comfortable with the horn. I hope that Kanstul will bring this tuba to the NABBA Competition in April so that I may try it again in more relaxed atmosphere.