6/4 Rudolf Meinl BBb Tuba? Here we go...

[Kontrabasstuba]

Hello folks,
here is a little soundcheck of my 6/4 Rudolf Meinl Kaisertuba in Bb.
Completely worked in gold brass.
I played the Vladislav Blazhevich Etude No. 20.

It is 110 cm high, the bell is 56 cm
and the bore is 22 mm. The REAL Kaisertuba!
Have fun listening!

[York-aholic]

Wow!

[Rick Denney]

It actually plays surprisingly well in the cash register, too.

You walk up to it and you think it’s going to be like Hoffnung’s sub-contrabass. Maybe sound will come out of it and maybe not. Probably not. But then you play it and discover that it can actually be played like a tuba, and not some mythical beast.

Dave Kirk borrowed one from Mike Lynch for an orchestra concert, as I understand it. I would have liked to hear that in person.

They are rare and expensive, and then there is the added expense of native bearers.

Rick “who has had the pleasure of a couple of short sessions with a 6/4 Rudi” Denney

[bort2.0]

I would LOVE to hear it in action, in a large space. When would you choose to bring this tuba to a gig?

My little 5/4 Rudy "Little kids model" sounds fine in my house, but is a completely different instrument in a large space.

Also, I appreciate the amount of air and control it takes to make the pedal range come out. Took me longer than I expected to find it on mine, but I did find it. Same bore size, IIRC.

[hrender]

One is sitting at Baltimore Brass Co. waiting for a test drive. They've lowered the price a bit.

[Rick Denney]

Indeed--an impressive demonstration and may they continue! I am amazed how Daniel is able to reveal the qualities of instruments most of us never have an opportunity to hear in person, let alone play.

My point was there's more to the Rudi 6/4 than the low range.

I expect it has the breadth of a Yorkish 6/4 but with the projection power of a tall-bell German tuba. As large as is the bore, it's wrong to think it would take an unending air supply. To me, a tuba is an air hog if it demands too much of it to make the tuba resonate. The resonance should provide its own resistance to work into--the whole concept of impedance. But the resonance should be commensurate with the air requirements. The Rudi 6/4 is surprisingly undemanding in relation to the product it produces. Daniel's first opening phrase revealed the sensitivity possible with this instrument more than did the lower-range stuff later on.

(I wonder how many people are listening to the demonstration on a system worthy of it--assuming that Daniel is using a microphone that goes there. I have not done so--yet. Having real power below 100 Hz will probably reveal stuff nobody will hear on their iphones or computer speakers. The fundamentals of those notes below low Bb are too low for most small speakers.)

The whole point of a big tuba, though, is to make a big sound rather than a low sound--adding power and presence to the ensemble. In another thread, Joe poked us with the notion of the tuba as a brass percussion instrument. I would put that less provocatively and describe it as a color instrument--it adds a quality to the ensemble sound unavailable from any other source. As Gene Pokorny said in the intro to his excerpts CD, a tuba player who is not in love with the sound made by a tuba may have the ladder he is climbing leaning against the wrong wall. The sound is the whole point of the instrument in an ensemble context. Small tubas also have a unique sound, and small tubas are easier to blend with the other brass, if blending is the objective. But if blending was the objective for a given work or context, the Rudi 6/4 (or a grand orchestral tuba, for that matter) would not be my choice. Example: One reason I was attracted to the Miraphone 184 that I just bought from Joe was that in some situations I did not want a sound that was too big or that called attention to itself.

I'm reminded of Vaughan Williams describing what he learned from his studies with Maurice Ravel. He described it as learning to orchestrate in "points of color." That has stuck with me in several contexts.

Rick "who has heard the 5/4 played in anger, too" Denney

[Tuba1153]

.

Dave Kirk borrowed one from Mike Lynch for an orchestra concert, as I understand it. I would have liked to hear that in person.

I would have loved to have been at that concert!

[prairieboy1]

As usual, you demonstrate such facility on all these different horns. The sound is so full and beautiful. Your next challenge is to produce the same excellent tone on a garden hose! I am positive you could do it! Please keep posting.+

[tubamuphone]

I saw Dave use that 6/4 RM on Mahler 8 and Mahler 3 with Houston. Unbelievable, even with all hell breaking loose on stage in the middle of Mahler 8, you could hear Dave. Tastefully present. It's a hog!

[Bob Kolada]

Sounds great! I played a 4/4 Rudy in Germany and really liked it. Great sound, little hard to play (primarily a piston bass tuba guy), intonation took a while to learn but man what a sound!

Let's hear you play this with another 6/4 Rudy.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n3hfCbUIGjE

I would LOVE to hear it in action, in a large space. When would you choose to bring this tuba to a gig?

My little 5/4 Rudy "Little kids model" sounds fine in my house, but is a completely different instrument in a large space.

Also, I appreciate the amount of air and control it takes to make the pedal range come out. Took me longer than I expected to find it on mine, but I did find it. Same bore size, IIRC.

I had the same experience with my Kanstul contrabass trombone. Very, very bleh at home but in a church, wow!

[pjv]

Sounds great! I played a 4/4 Rudy in Germany and really liked it. Great sound, little hard to play (primarily a piston bass tuba guy), intonation took a while to learn but man what a sound!

cheers
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anz ... 10-74-7089

same horn, shops site
https://www.eppstore-instruments.de/sho ... entil_i508

[matt g]

Those piston valved Rudolf Meinl tubas didn’t seem to catch on.

[peterbas]

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