I am for the most part, a tenor and bass trombone player. I finally got the itch for a Tuba, mainly so I don't have to deal with out of tune tuba players in community groups anymore. I went to Dillon Music, and tried out a bunch of tubas. Previously I had gone to Baltimore brass a few years back, tried out a King 2341, and was just not able to really play it at all.
This time, I was trying out a Yamaha YBB631 and YBB632 for part of the time. These are both 3+1 compensating tubas in BBb, and I was using a Helleberg 7b for most of the playing. I have a 120S but I think it's just too big for me.
Anyway, I could not really get the notes to center, and even the better 632 just felt "stuffy" and ponderous.
In the other room, they had a kinda beat up YEB-321 in Eb, so I tried to play that with the 7b. Well, it was night and day. Notes came out. Notes slotted. Notes SOUNDED GOOD. Even though I am not a fan of 4 valves in a row (weak pinky finger), it was actually enjoyable to play it.
So, I'm really just trying to figure out if this is typical. Does BBb just take longer to get used to? Should I figure that Eb is just going to work better for me and stick with that? Any advice would be great. I'm really a fan of the 3+1 british setup, like on my Euphonium.
This time, I was trying out a Yamaha YBB631 and YBB632 for part of the time. These are both 3+1 compensating tubas in BBb, and I was using a Helleberg 7b for most of the playing. I have a 120S but I think it's just too big for me.
Anyway, I could not really get the notes to center, and even the better 632 just felt "stuffy" and ponderous.
In the other room, they had a kinda beat up YEB-321 in Eb, so I tried to play that with the 7b. Well, it was night and day. Notes came out. Notes slotted. Notes SOUNDED GOOD. Even though I am not a fan of 4 valves in a row (weak pinky finger), it was actually enjoyable to play it.
So, I'm really just trying to figure out if this is typical. Does BBb just take longer to get used to? Should I figure that Eb is just going to work better for me and stick with that? Any advice would be great. I'm really a fan of the 3+1 british setup, like on my Euphonium.
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