Posted by Wade on September 28, 2003 at 01:54:09:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Advice on a solid small horn? posted by DevinTOtto on September 27, 2003 at 20:12:48:
IN MY OPINION (meaning that others here will have had differing experiences, to be sure):
The F is better than the CC. The few YCB 621 tubas that I have played all got a fairly ratty sounding low C. These were all numbered consecutively, tested by me at the old Giardenelli's in Manhattan when I lived there in 1987 or early 1988. While FUN to play, they seemed to be more "small" than the later F version of that body type. I was really quite impressed with these guys, but the low end on that batch was just too much work to control when playing loudly in the "money" register. Oddly, the later YFB 621 seems to not only out perform most other F tubas in the "funny" part of the F's register, but it seems to out-do the CC horn that uses the same exact body parts. Go figure.
I like the CC, but the F seems to be a better instrument, overall.
Both suffer from a rather too-vanilla timbre, in the opinions of many; but I really am learning to produce a big, warm sound from my F. It has taken some work, but it only gets vanilla-sounding when I sightread, or during other times that tax the mind too much to work the sound on each note.
Hope that answers your questions.
Wade "love my big little F tuba" Rackley