Posted by Gary on March 08, 1999 at 09:16:38:
In Reply to: 5/4 Rudolph Meinls posted by Brendan on March 06, 1999 at 15:49:13:
I have had my Rudy 5/4 for about 11 years now. There is NOTHING like the Rudy sound to my ears. Rudy's have a warm ringing sound mixing highs and lows in the sound very well. There are so many big horns out on the market that just get kind of a big dull sound...no life to the sound. The Rudy 5/4 is the perfect orchestral instrument I think.
That is not to say it does not have faults. Being as large a horn as it is (.920 bore), response in the low register can be challenging. One of the ways I haev found to remedy this is a little invention called the adjustable gap receiver. I had mine put on by the original...Dillon Music. It made a HUGE difference in response. I also had a new 5th slide made...an open wrap slide. It looks a bit strange at first but it sure helps the 5th valve response.
Projection is fantastic. The horn will take all the air you can give it. But it responds best when you don't force the air.
At times I've thought how nice it would be to have a little smaller horn instead, but it always comes back to one thing...sound. And as long as sound is the top priority, I can never see myself selling my Rudy.
I'm not quite sure why it is labeled a 5/4 horn. A .92o bore is the biggest around (although I must say that I noticed in the most recent Brasswind catalog, the bore was listed as .856 or something).
If you have the chance to get one of these horns, I say jump on it. Take a look at Sean's link to the list of who plays what. There are some great Rudy players out there...Rex Martin and, especially Ellis Wean.
Good luck with your decision.