Re: Re: CC or BBb


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Posted by Rex Roeges on May 10, 2002 at 23:12:08:

In Reply to: Re: CC or BBb posted by Austin H. on May 09, 2002 at 21:46:35:

I have had the same experience. I've played a lot of BBb's (I can't think of a brand more than 3 years old that I haven't played) also, but I haven't found a BBb that plays as well as the CC's I've played (VMI, Cerveny, MW, Miraphone, Willson, etc.). That is the reason that I switched from BBb to CC after 30+ years. However, I don't necessarily agree with your "openness" argument. The Chemical Engineer in me (that's what I do when I drive to work every morning)does not think that there would be enough pressure drop in the extra 18" or so of "open-bugle" piping to cause a significant amount of additional pressure drop (in going from CC to BBb), especially at the pipe diameter that we see in Tubas. I think that it would make a much greater difference in French Horns or Trumpets. So the question remains: Why do I find the CC to slot better, be more agile, etc.? I don't know, it could be that the 18" of pressure drop makes a real difference, it could be just Hawthorne Effect (but I doubt that), or it could be that there is some complex physics that just favors a ~16' horn in the Bass Clef range (my gut instinct agrees with this last option). Finally, I agree that there are some terrific new and old BBb's out there (and terrific players of BBb tubas), but I haven't found any BBb's that work as well as even a mediocre CC for me.


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