Re: Re: stuffy backpressure


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on May 10, 2002 at 07:58:27:

In Reply to: Re: stuffy backpressure posted by Art H on May 09, 2002 at 23:27:33:

That is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard! Are you serious? All of us who own expensive CC tubas are conspiring to hide the fact that our horns play stuffy in the low register and, further, that we're not admitting it because we don't want to be embarrassed that we paid so much for a horn with such a problem??? Do you honestly believe that BBb tubas are superior in this regard?

The truth is that any number of factors could be causing this, anything from a bad tuba to bad technique. Is the mouthpiece too small for the tuba? Are you overblowing the low range, thus causing the sensation that there is too much back pressure? I've played a lot of tubas and I've never noticed that CC or BBb tubas were appreciably different in how they played or sounded, except as much as in how they differed in their designs. The prime example is the Miraphone 186. Whether in BBb or CC, the 186 plays pretty much the same when I've tried it. Our school here just bought a brand new 186 BBb to go with the 186 CC we already have and both play just about like every other 186 I've ever tried. I don't believe for one minute that a CC tuba is inherently stuffy in the low range. It all depends on the quality of the construction and the design. The surest bet is to take the horn to a professional for a lesson and have that person see if the horn has a problem or if there is some other explanation. To say that this problem is something endemic to CC tubas just hasn't been my experience at all.

My opinion for what it's worth...


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