Gold plated Yamaha 661 CC at Dillon

[bort2.0]

https://www.dillonmusic.com/used-yamaha ... sn-770602/

Guessing it was from the Canadian Brass since they used gold-plated Yamahas at one time... but I can't be certain. I remember that somewhere (BAC?) tried to sell something like this a few years ago for like 3x this amount. Gold plated or not, it's a good tuba and the right price. 3/4-step fifth valve is interesting.

[matt g]

Neat!

The YCB-661 that this is based on was a heckuva good tuba, imo. It’s difficult to pinpoint what it’s imitating, as it seems to be a little bit of Miraphone, Melton, and Cerveny mixed together. The 661 also had the 3/4 fifth valve.

Provenance notwithstanding, this is a decent deal on a rare tuba. A tuba that was a pretty good all-around instrument.

[bloke]

I’ve always sort of assumed they were factory cut down BB-641 tubas.

[matt g]

It’s a heckuva good cut job then.

I’m guessing between the fifth valve, Yamaha not being a player in that market space, and 186/188s competitively prices at the time, it just didn’t make sense to keep selling them.

The couple I’ve played were better than the Yamaha CC I owned, the YCB-822. Yet that horn persists.

[bort2.0]

When I was 23 and bought my own tuba with my own money, I had narrowed down the budget choices at BBC to an MW-30 and a Yamaha 661.

The Yamaha played a little better, but the MW was pretty much just as good, just 4 valves. The MW was $3k and the Yamaha was $4k... So naturally, the MW was the choice.

[bloke]

It’s a heckuva good cut job then.

"factory cut", which allows for more than cutting...

...I refer to "factory C versions of B-flat designs" as "factory cuts".

[bloke]

It’s a heckuva good cut job then.

"factory cut", which allows for more than cutting...

...I refer to "factory C versions of B-flat designs" as "factory cuts".

Understood, and I was implying that they seemed to have done the necessary homework to get things in order.

[bort2.0]

Our friend @joshealejo has a Yamaha 661 down in Peru -- I haven't heard from him in a little while, but I believe he very much likes that tuba. Hoping he sees this and can let us know.

But again, perfect or not, I think this is a nice tuba for the price. Both this and that PT-3 they have are a lot of tuba for the money, and I think either would make a good long-term do-it-all tuba for someone needing a not-huge CC. So basically, they would both work awesomely for me.

How useful is a 3/4 tone 5th valve slide? Or best to maybe just get a longer slide made for it?

[bloke]

...describing tuba models' viability levels with qualifying prepositional phrases...

[cktuba]

I've heard the 661 and 861 both described as very Alexander-like (163 model being the reference point). I've never gotten the opportunity to play one, so I don't know from personal experience. Does anyone out there care to comment on this comparison?

[bort2.0]

I've heard the 661 and 861 both described as very Alexander-like (163 model being the reference point). I've never gotten the opportunity to play one, so I don't know from personal experience. Does anyone out there care to comment on this comparison?

The 861 was heavily inspired by the Alexander 163. I'll stop short of calling it a clone, but it was pretty similar. I've only ever seen a few of them, and never tried one. Lee had one for sale 5-10 years ago, and it was more expensive used than I would have guessed... but it was said to have been a phenominal tuba. Rumor has it that they still make these tubas, just don't sell them in the US market.

The 661, as I understand it, was developed to compete with things like the Piggy and the PT-3/4 and similar tubas in the 1980s. I'm guessing they didn't sell many of them to begin with, and as the tuba world shifted to bigger things anyway, the 661 kind of got left behind. A lot of people have said that the 661 is the best tuba that Yamaha ever made.

[joshealejo]

Our friend @joshealejo has a Yamaha 661 down in Peru -- I haven't heard from him in a little while, but I believe he very much likes that tuba. Hoping he sees this and can let us know.

But again, perfect or not, I think this is a nice tuba for the price. Both this and that PT-3 they have are a lot of tuba for the money, and I think either would make a good long-term do-it-all tuba for someone needing a not-huge CC. So basically, they would both work awesomely for me.

How useful is a 3/4 tone 5th valve slide? Or best to maybe just get a longer slide made for it?

Thank you for your call Brett!

Greetings from Peru,

I own a lacquered YCB-661 after make a huge change in my equipment. The 661 Is an awesome tuba! Easy to play and colorful sound. I like to use It with my Sidey SSH Classic and with Houser Deck 3F when I need more "bass sound". The only con I found on It is that the rotors feel a little weighty compared to my/not mine anymore Neptune (which is in Brasil now) and Fossi 56AFT (now in Colombia). Ah... I loved the feeling of those B&S rotorary valves. They are really great! Regarding the 5th valve configuration. It is the same as other Yamaha tubas with 5th valve (YFB-621, YFB-822 YCB-822) It is a 3 piece tuba where you can remove the middel part and get a low 1/2 tone or 3/4 tone and when you assamble all the 3 parts you get 1 step. With this instrument I tend to pull almost all the 2 parts to get a low 1 step 5th valve.


My beloved YCB-661

Now some interesting stuff...

The YCB-661 is very well seen by japanese players. They find It to be somewhat rare and always referred as a great playing small tuba but with big enough sound.

They were made by special order only at that time, just like the Custom horns now (YFB-821 and YCB-826)


"Made to order"

They came with both left and right handed 5th valve and came with longer that 1 step valve, just like they YFB-821 Bobo horns with they extended and bended 5th upper pipe. Then is the YCB-861(1ST VERSION) which is just like the YCB-661 short body with 5th valve at right hand and inverted 5th rotor (just like that YCB-8X1)


YCB-661 with extended and right handed 5th valve


They are said to be prototypes of the modern Rudolf Meinl/Alexander like YCB-861 which yes, It is still beign made for Japanese (and possibly Euro) market, same as the YBB-645G and YBB-841 and 841G (I have played a YBB-841G owned by The National Symphony of Peru and is an outstanding instrument) which are still beign made at special order. It have read in an old post from Mr. Pete Link from Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra that the Yamaha team "lost" the machinery necesary to make this tuba when they moved to Hamamatsu Prefecture.

The picture of Mr. Dellenbach holding this tuba which pops up from time to time shows that long 3 part tube-5th valve assembly so this YCB-8X1 is missing the middle part (if same horn)


Mr. Dellenbach with YCB-8X1 or YCB-861 (OLD VERSSION)

I recorded this with a Wind Orchestra a couple of months ago:
https://files.fm/f/uxmxy4ehu
(YCB-661 with Sidey SSH Classic combo)

Be well,
Jose

[bloke]

never really occurred to me that they sounded like anything made in Europe, but - again - more like what they appear to be, which is a shortened C version of a 641.