Anything new with Tubas?
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This section is for posts that are directly related to performance, performers, or equipment. Social issues are allowed, as long as they are directly related to those categories. If you see a post that you cannot respond to with respect and courtesy, we ask that you do not respond at all.
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bort2.0
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Re: Anything new with Tubas?
A new 5rv 5/4 b flat from Eastman looks interesting.
Yamaha 621 w/16’’ bell w/Laskey 32h
Eastman 825vg b flat w/ Laskey 32b
F Schmidt (b&s) euphonium-for sale
Pensacola symphony principal tuba
Eastman 825vg b flat w/ Laskey 32b
F Schmidt (b&s) euphonium-for sale
Pensacola symphony principal tuba
Re: Anything new with Tubas?
It's not exactly "new" but Robin Hayward with B&S and a few research institutions developed a way to play tuba microtonally.
(His website)https://robinhayward.com/eng/mitontuba.php
From what I can see, it seems to allow you to play between the notes fairly indiscriminately. A selling point listed is the playability of "every conceivable pitch throughout the instrument's five-octave range," which for sure can be obtained by having the valves get you into the ballpark and lipping even ignoring the very specific pitches he has listed in his "microtonal tuba glissando" chart.
The necessity for microtonal instruments for brass, wind, and to a lesser extent, string players is debateable though. Playing of "microtonal" music with synthesizers and other similar fixed-pitch instruments is significantly more feasible since you essentially press a key and a note comes out, but considering how much ear-training it takes to have people play normally-tuned music, it begs the question of whether it's worth it to write/perform music that will require you to ear-train yourself to the peculiar intervals of the tuning system of any given piece. (I mean without a fixed-pitch reference, of course. Imagine a brass quintet playing 29-EDO music without having heard 29-EDO before. I imagine many of the intervals would resolve themselves to their standard tuning counterparts and microtonal steps would be fudged almost across the board.)
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RJ
(His website)https://robinhayward.com/eng/mitontuba.php
From what I can see, it seems to allow you to play between the notes fairly indiscriminately. A selling point listed is the playability of "every conceivable pitch throughout the instrument's five-octave range," which for sure can be obtained by having the valves get you into the ballpark and lipping even ignoring the very specific pitches he has listed in his "microtonal tuba glissando" chart.
The necessity for microtonal instruments for brass, wind, and to a lesser extent, string players is debateable though. Playing of "microtonal" music with synthesizers and other similar fixed-pitch instruments is significantly more feasible since you essentially press a key and a note comes out, but considering how much ear-training it takes to have people play normally-tuned music, it begs the question of whether it's worth it to write/perform music that will require you to ear-train yourself to the peculiar intervals of the tuning system of any given piece. (I mean without a fixed-pitch reference, of course. Imagine a brass quintet playing 29-EDO music without having heard 29-EDO before. I imagine many of the intervals would resolve themselves to their standard tuning counterparts and microtonal steps would be fudged almost across the board.)
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RJ
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DonO.
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Re: Anything new with Tubas?
From now on, if my intonation is off, I will just explain that I’m playing microtonally! 
King 2341 “new style”
Kanstul 902-3B
Conn Helleberg Standard 120
Kanstul 902-3B
Conn Helleberg Standard 120