Posted by Rick Denney on June 13, 2003 at 16:00:46:
In Reply to: Which BBb...... posted by Matt G on June 13, 2003 at 09:20:05:
The Miraphone 1291 would not do it for me--I can think of several CC's in that size I would prefer, including a Meinl-Weston 2000.
The 2341 might tempt one to make the switch, though I think the Getzen G-50 is just as fun to play and more consistent.
The Willson woudn't do it for me, either. I can't think of any advantage the 3100 (BBb) has over the 3050 (CC) (or vice versa, for that matter).
I've never played a Fafner, but it's a possibility, as well as a Rudy and an Alex. These were designed to be state-of-the-art instruments in BBb, and come from manufacturers who know how to please top pros. These large rotary BBb's don't have CC counterparts and were designed to please German pros who play BBb.
Some Holtons might do it, heh, heh, but only when money is an object. The very best and most expensive grand orchestral CC's are better built and may do just as well as any Holton.
Even if money is no object, I suspect there are individual instruments that are so good that they have the potential to woo someone away from CC. You could only tell that by running across one. But there are very few BBb tubas that can do things no CC can do, just as there are few (but not as few) CC's that can do things no BBb can do. It's hard to compare the one-of-a-kind gem to the average of another type. My Holton is better than nearly all CC's I've played, and as good as all of them, in terms of playability and sound (but not in terms of construction quality). But for every BBb Holton in that category, I suspect there are a bunch of newer and better made CC's that do just as well.
Rick "a BBb player for whom money IS an object" Denney