Instrument: Odyssey Tuba

John Gillam takes the Odyssey Premiere Bb Bass Tuba for a ‘test-drive’ and pronounces it ‘a welcome entry’ to the market.

With an economy price, I was first impressed with the clean lines and detail of design. In bright silver-plate with gold/burnished copper valve caps and ends to tuning slides, it’s very classy.

A couple of practical issues surrounding the design of the case, however. The zip opening is awkward to manage on such a large case - you must engage the zip at both ends around the full corners to keep it closed, which is time-consuming. At 6’ 2”, the grab straps are also too long to keep the wheels off the floor when using them.

The instrument, though, was very easy to blow at all dynamic levels and had a nice warm sound. I was using my cherished AW24 mouthpiece. It was very responsive for delicate production and, unlike other BBb bass models, didn’t ‘narrow’ and get noticeably thin in tone, in the upper register (top G and above).

The lead-pipe was at a very convenient height for players of all heights and sizes. The intonation and tuning were very accurate from middle G upwards, but I struggled to keep intonation in line, especially below middle G and certainly in the lower register. This needs some further work and the fact that I had to play with the first valve slide out by at least 3” seems to confirm that. All manufacturers have struggled with this in the last 25 years on the instruments that I have played, so no real shock!

I have never yet had a bass that didn’t seem to fill up with water in the second valve slide, which often needs emptying at speed and with accuracy; the lack of a pull ring to this slide made that difficult, but would be very easily remedied. Overall, a lovely looking instrument, which plays with a lovely warm tone. Don’t just look at this as a cheaper option because, with a few tweaks, it would match up to any and is a welcome entry to the market place.

THE ‘ODYSSEY PREMIER Bb’ SPEC

RRP: £5,999 (inc. VAT)
Body: Brass
Bell: 19” (483cm)
Valves: four piston valves
Water keys: three
Denis Wick mouthpiece
Zero gravity ‘back pack’ hard foam case with wheels