Posted by Rick Denney on October 17, 2001 at 15:15:27:
In Reply to: Re: Tuba size and testosterone posted by Lew on October 17, 2001 at 14:56:33:
Yes, the 2xJ is a 6/4 by anyone's standards. For visual comparison, I'd start with the Holton in the pictures. It would dwarf the York Master easily. For all the tubas I've had the privelege of trying out, I've never had any quality time with big Conn, so I can't comment on how it is to play.
I think you are right on the mark with the concept of breadth rather than volume. In my basement, I can play what seems louder on my Miraphone than on the York. In the big (somewhat live) rehearsal room, though, and in the performance hall, the York Master fills the room with sound. I can hear it coming back to me in ways I never could with my previous tubas. It therefore requires a different approach--one of relaxation. I've heard it said a zillion times of the bigger American-style horns, and I've even written the words I've heard many times, but it's finally coming home to me as a tubist.
I really would like to record both instruments in a large, live performance hall, just to hear what the differences are out front. Even playing as quietly as I can, the sound of the York Master just seems to wrap around the room. I can't imagine trying to control a 6/4 instrument in that group. It doesn't help that the music is Tchaikovsky, with marked dynamics ranging from ppppp to fffff.
Of course, my point was that nobody ever complained that my softest playing was too loud before I realized the horn was a 5/4. I wonder that that means?
Rick "who can't imagine where his brain would go with a 6/4" Denney