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I seem to just fall into these things, sometimes!

Background:

My previous CC tuba was a small bell MW Thor. Great horn. I really enjoyed playing with it, and it had several characteristics about it that I really liked: Absolute point and shoot pitch, GREAT low register, easy to hold and play. The thing I didn't love about it was the sound. It was very direct, and I tend to be a really aggressive player and found myself just splatting notes all over way more often than I would've liked. I decided to put the horn on the market to just see what happens. I didn't necessarily want another Thor, and on the market now there wasn't a large bell version. I was considering the Pt-6, 6P, MRP, and MW 5450RA. I still wanted a big horn, but a broader sound than the 17.7" bell Thor offered. Again, I'm a pretty aggressive player, and combined with the aggressive sound of the Thor, I needed something to round it out a bit.

Basically, I would've been absolutely fine keeping that tuba. I really, really liked it. Then, somebody made me an offer on it after some back-and-forth and a brief playtest. I took it.

At this point, I was looking long and hard at a B&S MRP-C located in NYC. I was SO close to pulling the trigger on that horn, and was planning on driving the 14 hours from Chicago to Manhattan rather than shipping a nearly new horn.

Then I got an email from a gentleman who lived about 2 hours south of where we ended up meeting. I made him an offer, and we met up last night for the exchange. Absolutely the EASIEST tuba purchase I've ever made: No long drive, no cross-country excursions, nothing. I saved so much time and gas money, and am grateful that this all worked out.

As you've probably guessed, I bought a B&S MRP-C. I've only played on it for about an hour total at the time of writing.

First impressions:
It's a huge horn! My Thor was big, but this tuba looks and feels bigger, wider, and broader in every sense. I really like it. This is about as big a horn as I'll ever want. I have no desire to play a York copy or a 2165-like piston horn. This tuba still has some nice clarity to it as compared to the 6/4 piston CC's.

The build quality is exceptional. This is an ex-demo instrument, and it was apparently considered demo because they used too much flux at the factory, and drilled a hole in the top of the 4th valve in the wrong spot. That hole was fixed but there's the tiniest bit of raw brass exposed there. Whatever. It doesn't affect anything and you can barely see it. The rotors are SO much better than the *crappy* rotors on the Eastman F tuba I'd played several months ago. Nothing feels cheap.

It feels a good bit lighter than my Thor. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but that 5450 does weigh a lot!

Much different response than my Thor had. I'm going cold turkey into a rotary horn. I've never owned one before, at least a rotary contrabass horn. I'm finding it has a different blow around low F# and G. If I try to play it like on my Thor, it doesn't feel solid. If I slow down, relax, let the horn do the work, I get a gorgeous sounding note with solid response. That will likely get better as I get more comfortable.

Pitch is really, really good. 1st and 4th have been vented by Martin Wilk, along with added Baer-style slide stops. I'm not sure those are really necessary because the pitch is so good. Similar to my 5450, I probably won't be pulling slides too often on this tuba.

GREAT sound. Exactly what I want to sound like. Very broad, Germanic tone to it. I really want to get into a big room with this horn to really see what it can do. The acoustics in my basement are less than ideal.

It came with the standard B&S gig bag. I will probably get a nice Cronkhite or more likely a Superfine bag made for this tuba when I have disposable income. There's nothing wrong with the B&S bag, but it's definitely not as padded as the Cronkhite I had with the 5450, and I like the side-loader bags. Is that necessary now? No. In the future, I'll probably buy a nice bag for it. There isn't a dent on the horn and I want to keep it that way!

Anyway, that's all I've got for now! I'm very excited about this horn and am so glad I was able to purchase it. More photos to come later! Trying to figure out how to embed them... Bear with me...

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Congratulations!

That's a tuba I've always wanted to own, but money and opportunity haven't lined up. Really happy for you!

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:34 pm Congratulations!

That's a tuba I've always wanted to own, but money and opportunity haven't lined up. Really happy for you!

Bort, this could be the large rotary CC you try when you sell that Rudy... Just messing with you, of course! If you're ever in the Chicago area and want to try it, you're more than welcome!

Thanks!

After owning a Neptune, PT-7, and a PT-6, I feel like the MRP is probably the model that I was circling the whole time. Your review largely represents that!

You mention that you are an aggressive player and sometimes splatter notes all over the place. Not sure what settings you play in, but do you really need to be aggressive to the point that your attacks splatter? I have known pro players over the years that can rattle the windows with clear, loud attacks without splattering. I wonder if you are experiencing an embouchure problem (?) Anyway, good luck to you. Hope you can find a horn that is suitable for you.

Ace

Ace wrote: ↑Sun Mar 13, 2022 6:23 pm You mention that you are an aggressive player and sometimes splatter notes all over the place. Not sure what settings you play in, but do you really need to be aggressive to the point that your attacks splatter? I have known pro players over the years that can rattle the windows with clear, loud attacks without splattering. I wonder if you are experiencing an embouchure problem (?) Anyway, good luck to you. Hope you can find a horn that is suitable for you.

Ace

Ah, yes! What I meant by that, the Thor makes it very easy to just play super loud, and that 17.7” bell gave the horn a lot of edge. I have a tendency to just go for it. This horn, as I play it more, rounds out my sound in a way that I really like. No embouchure problems here, mainly sound quality stuff.

BTW, that gig bag is sweet. :)

Those are made by Gotz, and are my favorite. The one you have is likely the "double padded" version, which yes, is a bit thinner in the padding. When you custom order one, you can get "triple padded," and for me, that's as good as it gets. I had a triple padded dark blue/black handle Gotz for my Willson, and loved it. If my Rudy is a keeper, that's what I'm getting for it.

Oh, and if it were me, I'd get out the seam ripper and take the B&S patch off of it.

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 13, 2022 7:09 pm BTW, that gig bag is sweet. :)

Those are made by Gotz, and are my favorite. The one you have is likely the "double padded" version, which yes, is a bit thinner in the padding. When you custom order one, you can get "triple padded," and for me, that's as good as it gets. I had a triple padded dark blue/black handle Gotz for my Willson, and loved it. If my Rudy is a keeper, that's what I'm getting for it.

Oh, and if it were me, I'd get out the seam ripper and take the B&S patch off of it.

So we're pissing all over his "look at what I got" thread, bringing up "bag envy" are we...??

Bag envy...? I'm just trying to provide a few details and context about his gig bag. I'm confused.

Such a beautiful horn! Enjoy!!

Come on Brett.
This is a tuba page, not trombone or guitar.
We expend most of our energy - here - pulling each other’s legs.
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this tuba: CONGRATS !

this model: sort of reminds me of a next-size-up 188 (vs. the PT-6, that it obviously replaced)

bloke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 13, 2022 9:17 pm this model: sort of reminds me of a next-size-up 188 (vs. the PT-6, that it obviously replaced)

I have always thought / felt the Mr.P horns were updated PT models with tweaks, this one being an updated version of the PT-6 but I've spent very little time playing a PT-6 and not sure if I've gotten hands on one of these at a conference or not (which doesn't really count). The little bit of time I spent on a PT-6 impressed me with the agility for that size of horn.

A customer (' not trying to jinx anyone !!) fell down carrying one of those MRP C tubas, and messed it up pretty good.
They claimed that they were very happy (when they got it back), because I didn't scratch it all up repairing it.
I didn't spend but a minute playing it (after I got all of the denting repaired, and everything working again.)
I guess I should have spent more time with it; I always like to spend enough time (with various models) to try to remember/imprint how they play.
Truth be told, I've only spend a few minutes - here-and-there - playing this model (probably three or four different ones).
I understand their appeal (fine instruments), but I suspect that I'm - personally - not quite the right match-up for that model.

Thanks for the comments.

Bort, the bag IS nice, to be totally honest. I just think the Superfine/Cronkhite bags are nicer! They seem to be more padded and the straps aren’t so thin. That upgrade won’t happen for a good while, I’m happy with the bag as is right now!

Having sat with a rotary Pt-6 for maybe 30 minutes, I don’t have a lot to say other than these things:

The PT line felt larger than the 5450 line. Bottom bows and top bows seemed bigger to me, and that translated into the sound too. Less direct.

The MRP again feels notably larger than the 5450, and next to a Pt-6 you can see the difference for sure, but I don’t think it’s a drastic size difference. This has been said before, but it’s everything good about a Pt-6 without the tuning quirks at the top of the staff, or the “stuffy” low register. It also has good clarity from what I can tell, compared to the 6/4 piston tubas. Again I would love to get this into a big room.

I never felt the PT tubas were stuffy, they just take a slightly different approach. If they were hard to play down low, nobody would play them, right? The MRP makes everything easier but still takes a different approach than the 5450. Apples and oranges.

I played the horn for about ~2 hours last night.

It’s got this evenness of sound and feel throughout all registers that I reallllly like. I never felt comfortable slurring through each register with the big MW piston valves, and had wanted to get MAW valves for a long time. This rotary horn just makes that aspect of playing so easy.

Pedal CC takes even less effort than on my 5450. That low F# and low G are getting better; I’d like to experiment with mouthpieces on this horn. I wonder if I really need to use a Pt-50 on such a large instrument. I did that on the 5450 to try and darken it up. This horn doesn’t need that. Maybe an 88 would be a good thing to try.

So far, I’m feeling like I’ve made the right decision with this tuba. So many things I like about it. And I LOVED the 5450. This horn just happens to take all the things I liked about the 5450, and ADD the things I wanted the 5450 to have.

More photos! Image one and two are a front/rear view with better lighting. Image three shows that weird 4th valve spot I mentioned in my first post.

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That old school fourth valve wrap.

with a subject like "New horn... Again!", I figured this would be a thread about @bort2.0.

I thought I'd update this post again while I'm here.

I hope giving some insight on why I own these things helps somebody out there. If nothing else, I have this tuba because it makes me happy.

This tuba is awesome. I really didn't even think that I'd pull a double horn switch this year. Things just sort of happen, I reevaluate what I want and need. My thoughts on this are honestly pretty similar to bort's in that, if a tuba isn't working for me, there's no reason to hang on to it if you're constantly fighting it. Find something that really fits you. Or, keep trying until you do!

I will say that right now I don't really have any places to play this thing. Most of my gigs are small ensemble, brass quintet, church services, etc. It's just too big for any of that. There's a reason I have two tubas, but I can't deny that I would be JUST fine with my big F tuba. I've made more money playing on F tuba than C tuba, in fact.

However, I'm not in any debt owning this tuba, unless you consider the cost of gas to pick it up. In fact, I made money on my Thor and that's the only reason I own this one. So, while I don't really *need* such a large C tuba, there's also no real problem I have with owning it!

On to the review part two: One month

If you're somebody who is looking for a do-it-all on one tuba sort of instrument, I'll be honest with you. This isn't it. Don't get me wrong, you can certainly play things that aren't large ensemble or orchestra-related on it. You can play solos on it- Nobody's going to stop you. Personally, I don't really play solo rep on the big tuba. I have, and I can, but now that I have an F tuba that plays the way I want it to, I haven't really wanted to pick up the big horn for that kind of stuff unless it's something that just lays better on C fingerings, if that makes sense.

As a side-note, and this may be an unpopular opinion, but I wouldn't even want a contrabass as my do-all tuba these days. That is the standard, I know, as F and Eb are seen as complimentary instruments that serve a different purpose. Now that I've had both a big piston Eb and big piston F, if you can find one that's reasonably in tune, go with that. Seriously. This Willson that I have now is just so easy to hold and play and has so much more agility.

THIS TUBA: Good pitch. Extremely good build quality. Great valves. I had the chance to get it into a big room yesterday, and it just lit up. Seriously. This is not the kind of tuba to play in your home all the time. If you've got the means, and have a big horn like this, do yourself a favor and go somewhere that is actually made for music performance. You'll thank me later

I really like how this tuba feels when switching notes and playing throughout all registers. Rotary valve are much easier to play "clean" than, say, the big valve MW/B&S piston horns. I feel like it's just less bumpy, and easier to have some more agility.

I'm still not 100% used to the blow in the low register. It's definitely there, but having less resistance to help is both a good thing and a challenge. I feel like I have less control, but everything is much more open and I have more potential sound output down there than on any previous tuba. I also think that it's easier to play in tune down there due to how open it is. But, it does take a whole lot of air, and has slightly different slots that I'm not used to yet.

TL;DR: I have to work less hard to get the sound I want, it feels easier to play in terms of articulation, and the low range is different but still good.

In a few weeks I will be playing in some masterclasses and other such things that pop up around my area, along with some low brass related stuff this summer. Should be fun.

Sousaswag wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 8:10 am I had the chance to get it into a big room yesterday, and it just lit up. Seriously. This is not the kind of tuba to play in your home all the time. If you've got the means, and have a big horn like this, do yourself a favor and go somewhere that is actually made for music performance. You'll thank me later

This is excellent advice. Most tubas don't open up to their potential at home/studio/practice room/etc., but this is especially true for big tubas. The first time I got the 496 out of the house into a rehearsal at a concert hall, it was a HOLY Shirt moment - this thing plays huge and it feels like less work! My thoughts about needing a 497 went away. Temporarily

Congratulations on the new acquisitions! And enjoy being stoked about that big tuba's actual sound. Playing the big tuba in a big room is for tuba players as is hitting that 300+yd drive for golfers: You keep coming back all the time to get more of it.

Grip it and rip it! Enjoy the heck out of it, and let us hear it sometime!

When possible, I try to practice at home at the bottom of a stairwell, or other place that has maximum tuba bell to ceiling height.