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I am interested in hearing from anyone who has played a Wessex Bambino Eb tuna in quintet.

eupho wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 8:14 pm I am interested in hearing from anyone who has played a Wessex Bambino Eb tuna in quintet.

just want to get this first-ever combination of these three words - and in this order - on record

bloke wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 8:28 pm

eupho wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 8:14 pm I am interested in hearing from anyone who has played a Wessex Bambino Eb tuna in quintet.

just want to get this first-ever combination of these three words - and in this order - on record

Boring.

I use one (a Wessex Bombino) in quintet since I'm not as facile on the B & S 103. Consider the following:

It's very lean sounding, though weightier than an equivalent sized F tuba. I liken it to a bass euphonium.
Don't force the air. It's bore is not much bigger than a euphonium's and will constrict your flow if it's not relaxed.
Mouthpiece choice matters. A lot. To the point you may have to step away from your comfort zone rim size on a larger instrument. In my case, going from even a PT-84 S (the smallest contrabass mouthpiece I own) to the Wick 4L I use on the Bombino is quite an adjustment. I do use the PT when it's hot, though, to bring the pitch down.
It comes with shorter and longer tuning slides; I use the long one since I tend sharp.

Is it the best choice? It depends on your wants/needs. I think it is excellent at the job if you're after a sound that cuts (without resorting to bass trombone).

I personally think it's too small. I used to own a Bambino and play a lot of quintet (tenor bone). Eb is fine, but a bigger one carries the group better without being too loud. There may be certain tunes with certain other players that will make it work, but in general, that's too small a sound.

a 15" Eb Bass back in the day had a sound which cut above the Frey... Is this not the same with this one?

anadmai wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2026 11:01 am a 15" Eb Bass back in the day had a sound which cut above the Frey... Is this not the same with this one?

The 15” bell Bessons/B&H are just larger in general with not much “pancake” in the bell, which means the bell throat is larger. Although the Bombino has a 15” bell as well, it has a much narrower bell throat (hence more “pancake” to achieve the 15” diameter) and a much smaller bore (.629” vs. .687”-ish or so for the Besson). Having played the Bombino, they are really just like big euphoniums and don’t produce a characteristic tuba sound (for me). There are certainly situations where that would be fine. ABQ has a bass trombone on the lowest part and there’s no reason a quintet couldn’t pull it off with a tiny Eb tuba, if that’s the sound they are going for.

arpthark wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2026 11:06 am

anadmai wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2026 11:01 am a 15" Eb Bass back in the day had a sound which cut above the Frey... Is this not the same with this one?

The 15” bell Bessons/B&H are just larger in general with not much “pancake” in the bell, which means the bell throat is larger. Although the Bombino has a 15” bell as well, it has a much narrower bell throat (hence more “pancake” to achieve the 15” diameter) and a much smaller bore (.629” vs. .687”-ish or so for the Besson). Having played the Bombino, they are really just like big euphoniums and don’t produce a characteristic tuba sound (for me). There are certainly situations where that would be fine. ABQ has a bass trombone on the lowest part and there’s no reason a quintet couldn’t pull it off with a tiny Eb tuba, if that’s the sound they are going for.

ohhhhhhhhhh.

I like the Bombino! (its correct name, believe it or not). I liken it to a sports car. Just don't expect it to do the job of a Mack truck. If your 5tet wants a weighty, dark sound, then this ain't it. But it does have its uses.

I strongly considered one before I ended up with the NStar. Based on what I read here -- I'm glad I got the NStar. Bombino would be easier to haul around, but I don't have piston technique and I suspect that ergonomically it would not have worked as well. And the Star can growl in the low range quite well and does not sound like a euphonium.

Not a fan of tuna

Casca Grossa wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2026 2:27 pm Not a fan of tuna

Few of us are, but - without them - we might play out of tune.
Catch my drift, brotha ?

Did the Great Bambino ever play in a Quintet? I don’t know, but he did play tuba in the band at St. Mary’s Orphange in Baltimore when he was a kid. Here he is with his alma mater St Mary’s band raising money to rebuild the school after a fire.

If I could play a B-flat "bass" trombone well, there is a huge body of quintet literature that sounds better with a trombone sound on the 5th voice, including all Renaissance transcriptions. The cimbasso (true F "bass" trombone) works out really well, but most people have the huge-bore and nebulous-intonation Chinese copies of the Rudy Meinl (whereas most of the expensive ones are just about as difficult with their intonation, as several of those require main tuning slide triggers), and those are very difficult to steer as well.