Big Mouth Brass F tubas

[martyneilan]

When I was picking up my MW tuba from the repair shop a couple weeks ago, they had a BMB F tuba they had just serviced for a local university. Even with the recent work done, the horn wasn't in the best condition (the repairman explained that previous repairs at another shop had been done improperly, and he made the best with what he could), the slides weren't set, and I didn't have an F tuba mouthpiece so I borrowed his King 26. That said, I was surprised with how much I liked the horn. The sound and response was even, full, and clear from bottom to top. There were a few minor pitch issues but that was probably a combination of the slides not set (I made a few adjustments that helped), not having the right mouthpiece, and not being familiar with the tendencies of that instrument. I didn't want to put this tuba down and kept trying different things on it. I could definitely see using it for quintet, orchestra, and solos. The only thing it wouldn't work for is if a "German F tuba sound" was mandated but I doubt I will play in the Berlin Phil.
I remember when they first came out that a few heavy hitters in the Buffalo area got them but I haven't heard too much else. They seemed like another "flavor of the month" horn that quickly disappeared, but outside of the 5th valve rubber band - which surprisingly works VERY well - I have yet to find anything bad online about them. The 18" bell may have been a turnoff for many and on paper I would prefer the 16" but it worked and worked very well, Richard Barth definitely knows what he is doing. It reminded me a little of the big Yamaha F but I liked the sound and feel of the BMB much better. I am not in the position to get one now, but when things level out in the future I could possibly see myself playing one.
Any other thoughts on these tubas? Please try to keep it specific to the BMB piston F tubas as there is much more information out there about the BATs.
Thanks,
Marty

[russiantuba]

Our local shop (Buckeye Brass) is the main distributor for these and I have played on them several times.

They have a nice, warm sound. When using my old Mirafone C4, it was a different timbre on the 4th valve, but I haven’t played on one in a while.

IIRC, the tuba has a dependent 5th valve set up. I borrowed one of their CCs when I had a fall at a conference and this threw me for a loop on a couple of notes. I tend to use more alternate 5th valve combinations on F, so I can see this being a potential issue.

One other issue is just in the overall quality, while not bad, is kind of dealing with cheaper parts. I would honestly rather pay a bit more for one of the horns with better upgrades to the quality.

I don’t think these horns took off as intended because it was shortly after that other competitors were releasing PT 10 copies and other F tubas at half the price point, which would be more appealing to those in the budget tuba market.

[martyneilan]

Thanks for your response, James! Given the bore and configuration of these tubas, a C4 with the stock tight backbore probably wouldn't work as well. The King 26 was surprisingly not too bad for this horn, but there would certainly be better alternatives. I think in some ways this would be more similar to your Gronitz F (admittedly a better horn in many ways, but also at a significantly higher price point) than to the PT 10/15. Unlike the PT F tubas, I could see using this as an all-arounder in a pinch for almost everything but the biggest works and ensembles as some have done with the big Yamaha F. The PT rotary horns seem to be more of a niche instrument, at least to us here in North America, yet the clones are selling like hotcakes - probably as a 3rd or 4th horn for most people or for the mandatory college (kolledge, bloke) recitals.
My 6/4 project horn will be with me ad infinitum, I have asked my wife to display it at my funeral before selling it (assuming she outlives me, as women tend to do.) I have had that 4/4 MW CC as a second horn for the last year, and after the adjustment period it is one of the best 4/4 rotary CC tubas I have played. I just don't have the need for that right now, and in the future may find an all-purpose F to be the perfect complement to my 6/4. With a PT10/15, I think I would still want a 3/4-4/4 CC or a EEb to fill in the gap.
Any other good input on these F tubas?

[russiantuba]

I find the C4 worked with all the piston F tubas I tried—I play a Blokepiece now, however. I feel the Gronitz has a similar sound to the Alexander F, while the BMB a little more diffuse and cosy sounding. The original one I tried didn’t have the issue so it might have been a small change they made. I personally like tighter throat mouthpieces on piston F tubas.

I feel the horn is very much like my Gronitz (or Petrushka) with a bit of a different color, but can do it all and doesn’t have that dull sound generally associated with the horns. Going to sidetrack here—I find that some of the newer PT rotor models have less color than certain model piston Fs that are said to be dull. Your mileage may vary on that, but after owning an older PT F and comparing it to newer models, I would rather buy one of these BMB