tuba for sale -or- Review: Weril CC


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Posted by Anthony Labelle on June 17, 2001 at 02:13:39:

I'm selling my Weril CC tuba, as I've got no use for it(am currently playing a Yamaha 661, and will hopefully be purchasing a Rudy CC by the end of the summer).
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My asking price is $1,400, and includes a Brasswind gig bag. There is some laquer wear on the front of the bell, where my arm touches it in the playing position, and a scratch on the back of the bell from a music stand... other than that, there are no noticeable cosmetic blemishes. All of the valves are great, and quieter than any valves you'll find on a $1,400 horn. All of the slides are well lubed, and move easily... I'll throw in the tuning chart I made for this horn to whomever buys it.
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I don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it out, only to have it returned because someone isn't satisfied with it, so I'll describe it's playing characteristics as best as I can.

My "honest" review of the horn:

Intonation-

no real slide pulling through the the "cash" register... 2nd partial C up to 4th line F is all relatively in tune... After tuning using the Funderburk method, I play my low E 3rd valve, which eliminates the need for me to do any slide pulling in that register.

In the pedal register (from FF down) I basically finger everything a step lower... they didn't seem to make the 4th valve long enough on this thing, and if it WERE any longer, it'd stick down below the bottom bow... low F and 3rd partial D are in tune using the 4th valve, though. You can avoid fingering stuff down a step by pulling slides... all the valve slides are accessible with the left hand(and move easily on this horn), and all have a good 6 inches of pull room, so if you don't mind the pulling, you can stick with the "CC" fingerings. Low E(fingered 234) is pretty stuffy... I can't hit that lick in The Ride on this horn, but then again, I'm not a pro. Pedal Db can be played perfectly in tune by lipping up the Fundamental.

The upper register can be pretty tricky... the horn seems to have a "bad Ab", but it's probably just me. On a good day it's no problem, on a bad day the horn can't seem to decide whether it wants to play an Ab or an F#. The bore on this horn is small, so playing in the upper register isn't too tricky... it does require quite a bit of lipping up, though.... I think I can safely say that all the slides could stand to be shortened by about an inch, just for the upper register. Middle C is consistently about 15 cents flat when the 2 C's below it are in tune(again, this could just be me... I generally have to lip up a lot in that register). Once you get above the D, though, it seems to "magically" come back in tune for me... I've recorded the second movement of the Gregson with this horn, and it sounds surprisingly good(intonation-wise... technique-wise is a whole 'nother story, but I can't really blame that on the horn).


Sound-

There's not a lot I can say on this... I'm a firm believer of "the player makes the sound, not the horn"... this isn't a Hirsbrunner, though... I can get a great sound on this horn, comparable to that on the Neptune I used to own, or of my current "loaner" Yamaha.. but it takes a little more work.

Response-

As good as just about any other horn I've played, surprsingly... in some cases even better.


If anyone has any specific questions about the horn, feel free to email and ask. I've basically listed any "cons" I can think of, all of which *I* think are overcome by one of the "pros" of this horn: $1,400.

Anthony Labelle
(218)310-0808


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