Posted by Jan L on July 11, 1999 at 10:38:41:
In Reply to: Re: A = ? posted by Harry Critchley on July 11, 1999 at 08:37:31:
Boy, I agree. I HAVE been driven to the street by some groups!
The same phenomenon occurs in many dance bands; the lead sax and trumpet players often tune their instruments a tad sharp so that they will cut through the rest of the band. The other brass & reed players, hearing this, tune their instruments sharper and the center of pitch goes even higher. When this happens, older pre-war American horns, particularly Conns, will not come up to pitch.
Several years ago, I worked in an ethnic group where the accordian player loved to play Slovenian-made button accordians. I was playing an old Conn 1920s "monster" Eb tuba, factory tuned dreadfully flat by modern standards. Those accordians were so sharp the Conn was unusable. I switched to a Schneider CC made in what was then East Germany. The Schneider was tuned on the sharp side; I was back in business. It was perfect with those Slovenian accordians.
Now, if I use the Schneider in other groups, I usually use at least one sousa bit in the receiver to pull the pitch down to "normal" and pull all the slides a bunch. Most of the time, though, I avoid the problem and use one of my American-made Conns.
As a general statement about Conns, I think it would be safe to say that most of the pre-WWII "low pitch" marked horns were tuned on the flat side, and all Conns made after the war were tuned to the modern A=440. This also applies to all of Conn's brass and woodwinds, not just tubas. Just remember, when in doubt, use a tuner.
jan