Boosey and Hawkes Sovereign BBb Bass, Model: BE994

When you are a kid in school and you express an interest in playing a musical instrument you are not really given much of a choice are you.

Given that most comprehensive school music departments have little or no money to spend on brand new stock you usually end up with an eclectic choice of playing the recorder, a tenor horn or a pair of chime bars as all the new shiny instruments – the cornets, saxophones and drums have already been scoped up by the swotty kids who's parents are on the Board of Governors or who are crap at games and get out of doing PE by pretending to play a violin or flute so that they don't have the piss taken out of them in the showers.

The other problem is that many a music teacher will see the chance of getting an extra body in his school band by issuing the poor soul with an instrument in accordance to the pupils physical shape and size. Thus, scrawny boys and small girls get to play the small stuff whilst the big lads are sent home with a bass or church organ to try and impress their parents with. It is no coincidence to find that lads who play the BBb bass are usually the same lads who pay prop forward in the school rugby team. If by luck they stick with their chosen instrument they get to have a great time and when they graduate into the big bad world of the local brass band hey may even get to play on a half decent instrument.

For many these will could well be something from the Boosey and Hawkes stable, and if their band has a fair few grand hanging around, or have just got a bit of dosh from the National Lottery, then it may well be the Sovereign BE994. With this in mind then, we put it to the test and asked our resident "Big Boy" Simon Gresswell of Yorkshire Building Society to put it through its paces.

The usual scoring system with 25 points on offer for Build Quality, Intonation, Ease of Blowing/ Tonal quality and Overall Performance/Value for money to give a final points tally out of 100.

No ice dancing judges here to cock things up either. So this is how it got on:

Build Quality:

The current BE994 model is as we have come to expect and demand (after Boosey got some pretty awful publicity after appearing on the consumer "Watchdog" programme and having their backsides slapped by Anne Robinson) is now very good, although the one exception is the lacquered model, which seems to suffer from solder (flux) leaks which eventually stain the finish with ugly black marks. The vast amount of plumbing is well put together and the slides are neatly and tightly engineered so that they only require a very slight coating of vasaline and close and lock well into their housings. Valves are also top quality and the bits and bobs of water keys, valve tops etc are robust and sturdy.

The piston valve action is as quiet as I can remember, although one persistent problem is that that the "Derlin" valve guides are so well engineered to fit down the channel that a nail file is often required to give them a little more tolerance in order to balance out any "pull" in a players valve action. Players with small hands may encounter a few difficulties, but I'm lucky as I've got hands like Pat Jennings. The silver plate finish is excellent and retains sheen even after a few hundred sweaty performances, whilst the reinforcement plates on various parts of the instruments to stop the worse bumps etc are very well sealed and offer a degree of protection to the bass player who occasional smacks his instrument on the back of the second horn players chair.

The model is also somewhat fatter and squatter in construction than previous models (perhaps reflecting the way modern bass players are built I suppose) but this means it can be a little uncomfortable for the "short arm" not "arse" player to hold in an ideal position. The good news however is that the mouthpiece position has been altered ever so slightly so that it at a much better angle and pitch and so doesn't lead the player to crouch and bend and close the airstream. It works well as an overall package and fits comfortably into the midriff of nearly every player who has played one. An encouraging start then.

Score: 22 points.

Intonation:

This is where it all goes horribly wrong. In a word – appalling! The specifications and blurb from the manufacturers says that the BE994 has "Perfect Intonation" but for me (and many players that I have spoken to) it is as much in tune as a performance by Atomic Kitten. Simply the instrument does not play in tune with itself.

For instance. In order to play bottom E natural (first line) in tune with your fellow Eb flat players I had to withdraw the tuning slide out by around 100mm, then to play a F natural in tune and with some semblance of harmonic connection to the E you had to push the slide back in by about 100mm! It is akin to playing a trombone at times! You can of course use false fingering to get around the problem, but you should ask the question - Why? For this type of hard earned money you should get an instrument that should be in tune and the payer shouldn't have to work out ways of getting around a problem that shouldn't exist on any instrument.

Of course it may well be me, but I've asked around and many of the players who use the BE994 complain of the same problem and even worse it is not a problem that is common to all Bb basses they produce. Other players complain of untunefulness with the third valve and fourth valve combinations, but most of all they complain that the instrument doesn't sound consistently in tune throughout the range. It is unquestionably flat in the higher register and you have to at times try and play "sharp" to get it in pitch to those around you. You just don't need this when you have a thousand and one other things to concentrate on in a contest performance. Perhaps it a quality control problem or that the manufacturers have not identified and rectified the problem, but a major problem it is.

Score: 10 points.

Ease of Blowing/Tonal Quality:

Amazingly for an instrument that caused me so many problems with tuning, it is an absolute joy to blow and has a tonal quality as good as any of it's predecessors. It makes a lovely sound that compliments and blends (when in tune) with the Eb basses, but has enough character in its timbre to give edge when required and to create a depth of sound that has a ringing "organlike" quality.

It is very easy to blow and very responsive in the lower register (just where it should be) and so you don't have to stick a bellows up your jacksy when trying to blow the lid of the concert hall, and even at the quietest dynamics as long as you can produce a constant and consistent airstream you will be rewarded with a dark and rich sound with plenty of hue and depth. You don't have to restrict your playing technique in any way at the quietest dynamics as the instrument retains its quality even at ppp and when you open out and give it big licks it can handle just about anything you care to shove down it. Retain your technique and it responds even when giving it the full monty, but I would urge caution to younger players who think that this gives them carte blanche to start honking all day, as it is easy to try and overblow and give yourself technique deficiencies if you do not treat the instruments capabilities with respect. Play loud – yes, but don't try and split the sides of the instrument; the Sovereign will beat you every time. Excellent.

Score: 21 points.

Overall Performance/ Value for Money:

I do enjoy playing the BE994 model. It's well out together and is simply brilliant to blow and create nice sounds, but the intonation at times borders on the bloody awful and this is a huge let down. As I have said, this may just be me, but I have asked many players in the top bands to give their opinions and they have all come back to me and said that they all encounter tuning problems at some point on the instrument. All of us can't be wrong can we?

The instrument offers a lovely velvety sound throughout the range though and is now so big in bore and has a huge 483mm bell that there is a slight problem in playing the shortest of notes with a degree of clarity and dryness that is still required in older test pieces. For me, the blueprint of a great tuba has to be the old Besson Imperial model, which had ideal balances, a lovely sound (small by today's standards, but one that could be developed if you had a sound technique) and was always in tune. Perhaps the move to bigger bores and the striving to create instruments that can wake the dead when giving full rein has meant that some of these qualities have been lost, and this is a huge pity. It is something of a misguided philosophy just to create bigger instruments by increasing the bore to try and get a bigger sound. More often than not it's the person behind the instrument that can make all the difference.

Value for money is a relative thing and paying full whack for a tuba that costs as much as a good quality second hand car can only be justified if you take your playing seriously enough to want to perform on something that can enhance your playing and not hold your will to improve back. It comes with the usual accoutrements and a sturdy case, but for this money you may also expect them to provide a personal garage space in the band car park as well.

The Sovereign BE994 is a very fine instrument, but it could be a truly great instrument if the problems with the intonation can be overcome. It isn't an impossible job, but one that should be undertaken with time and with consultation with top quality tuba players. Then the way will be clear to make the "Daddy" even more impressive. Very nearly a brilliant instrument.

Score: 19 points.

Overall Score: 72 points.

General Specifications:

Bore: 18.54mm
Weight: 11.8kg
Upright Bell
Stainless Steel valves
Top action valves
Compensating system
Lightweight valve springs with dampers
Delrin valve guides
4 water keys
Full hard carrying case
Bell Diameter 483mm – 19" diameter.

The Verdict:

For further information contact:

For more information about the "Prestige" cornet, please contact www.boosey.com or Rosehill Instruments, The Old House, 64 London End, Beaconsfield, Bucks. HP9 2JD. Tel: 01494 671717 Fax: 01494 676428

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