Pro-Music-News Wind-Instruments

Compact Meinl-Weston Gravity tuba with rotary valves at Musikmesse 2008

Having been announced already in 2007, the Meinl Weston BBb 2011RA was eventually released at Frankfurter Musikmesse to complete the “Heritage Howard Johnson Gravity” tuba line.
Like the model 2011TA (Top Action) and 2011 FA (Front Action), the 2011RA (Rotary Action) was developed in cooperation with Howard Johnson and is based on his Belgian Mahillon tuba of the 1960's. At this time, the Meinl Weston Company already supplied tuba body parts to the Mahillon factory. As all the tubas in this line, the 2011RA is a small instrument with a big sound, not too heavy and easy to handle. It has a 0.728” bore (4th valve 0.768“), a 17.3” bell diameter and a 35.8” height. The small bore gives a true turbo effect to its sound and improves the response. The lacquered instrument features a gold brass lead pipe, optionally it is avalable silver plated.
Howard Johnson has a colorful career in jazz. This includes playing tuba with Gil Evans and Charles Mingus and playing the baritone sax and bass clarinet chair of German NDR Big Band. Johnson's jazz tuba band started in 1968 and is now called Gravity. It was the first all-tuba ensemble; its format has often been copied, but never been duplicated.
compact Gravity tuba with rotary valves
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