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York 3082
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Beautiful German-made Eb tuba, 3+1 compensating piston model, silver
plate, with hard case. Made by Schreiber in Marchneukirchen,
who used to make this tuba for Besson. New tooling is tuned
up, so think of it as a super Besson 982 type tuba. This is a
pretty big Eb, useful for brass bands, doubling, and even orchestra work.
It should be an excellent all-around tuba for the player who
wants to be more of a virtuoso than a BBb tuba will allow, but wants
a better low range than offered by most F tubas. .689"
bore, 19" bell. Lacquer version shown, silver plate is the
same price. Includes hard case and Denis Wick mouthpiece.
3/7/08
At last, the York Eb has arrived. Here's a review. First, a
disclaimer: This CC tuba playing Yank must apologize to his UK
bretheren for his lack of Eb tuba prowess. But, ever forward.
First, this is a beautiful tuba - all silver plate, flawless
assembly, lots of trim and nicely machined details on the ferrules.
Four water keys are nicely placed. If you were only looking at Eb
tubas, this one qualifies as a BAT. It has a big bell throat and
wide flare. The bell is big enough that this tuba actually stands
on its bell flare and feels stable. The contrasts with all the
tippy small bell German style tubas we have around here. The horn
seems resonant, not too light, not too thick, and it vibrates nicely
as I play it. It's very satisfying. Playing-wise, this may be one
of my favorite Eb tubas. I like it better than the Besson 983 and
the Willson. It's certainly a much deeper, wider, symphonic sound
than the rotary Miraphones. It's been a while since I've played a
Besson 982, after which this one is modeled, but I think this York
is about as good. The notes slot well, and the open Eb settles in
quite well and feels comfortable. The pitch seems decent. It's not
exactly perfect: The first valve bass Db seems a bit lower than the
first valve Ab below it. I split the difference with the first
slide positioning, and I think the average will be fine. But then
the first valve middle F is a little low too. None of these are way
out, and probably are on par for any example of such a tuba. It
won't need nearly as much slide adjustments as would a German rotary
tuba or most any F tuba, so it may work out just fine. I didn't yet
check things with a tuner, but rather let my ear help me settle
things in. After playing it for a while today, I feel pretty well
settled in on pitch. This is such a vibrant horn, and it's
malleable, both in tone and pitch, that I'm having a fun time
playing really greasy on it. It's pretty big for a bebop horn, but
it's fun to play that style. Yes, the pistons have a pretty long
throw, but slurring is smooth the feel is even all over the horn.
I'm
always suspicious of the compensating system, since they are
relatively rare here in the new world. But, since the money notes
require lots of fourth valve on an Eb tuba, I'm finally coming
around to the fact that many patterns are just simpler with the
compensating system. Once the fourth valve is down, you just leave
it there and finger the same as the upper octave. This differs from
a five valve tuba, where the chromatic pattern downwards might go:
4, 2-4, 4-5, 2-3-4, 1-3-4, 2-3-4-5. It's doable, but a brain teaser
on occasion. Once you get the patterns though, the Eb compensating
system is easy. That being said, when you've got the fourth valve
down, you're now blowing through the other valves once again when
you push them down. So a low E is really blowing through seven
valves rather than four or five. But, the low range is still
spectacular, at least down through about low Gb. For the F and E,
one might have to pucker and spit a bit to really get the note to
pop. Other Eb's feel this way to me too (see disclaimer above). It
may be the nature of the beast. Besson claimed their new German
Eb's are better down there. I don't know now. They probably
perform about the same. To me this means that if this is my
orchestra horn, and I have to play Prokofiev, I need to practice or
find a giant but snappy mouthpiece. But the fact that this CAN be
an orchestra horn for some players means that you might just save
$10K or so on your instrument purchases. One nimble tuba that does
most everything well and allows you to become a virtuoso with a bit
less practice time might more than offset the occasional huff huff
required to belt out a low F. In the meantime, as I get used to the
horn, I find I can back off on the power of the low F and E, and
things are settling in fine. Blastissimo power on those notes will
take some work, but for nimble melodic playing, this horn has a very
even feel.
An odd
feature: The leadpipe doesn't wrap around the bell as far as I'm
used to seeing. That means the body of the tuba is a bit further
away from my body, and the sitting position with this horn may take
some getting used to. If you're used to setting the tuba on your
lap, this one is different. Instead, you sit back in your chair,
and rest the tuba bottom bow on the chair itself, in between your
legs. Since the bow is turned away from you a bit, a wide-legged
stance isn't necessary, and you needn't sit as bow legged as a cello
player. This actually makes things a bit more ergonomic for the
right hand. Beware, if you try to rest the tuba on your body, your
right thumb may get tired from supporting the horn, as there isn't
much thumb room if your right hand is holding the weight of the
horn. So, support the horn with your left hand, and let it balance
on the chair, and you'll find a happy balance point. I believe this
difference in geometry is also based on the Besson 982, which "is
created with a high position mouthpipe for the marching band and is
fitted with carriage rings and a lyre holder for comfort and
convenience", so says Besson.
The
York tuba comes with a removable spit catcher, locking Winter (or
maybe a copy thereof) hard case with wheels, Denis Wick 4L
mouthpiece, valve oil, and polishing cloth. For those who do
stand-up work, we have Alexander tuba straps in stock at $30 each.
Glenn Cronkhite makes a beautiful gig bag for this horn, the model
BBH981, in cordura or leather.
Update:
I played a new Besson 982, and the low E plays just like this one.
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$6447 silver plate |
