Are you ready folks? Here it is, everything you need to know about the different alloys used to make brass instruments, based on thousands of hours of helping players choose instruments:
Red brass sounds
more brilliant than yellow brass, which sounds brighter than red brass.
Gold brass and rose brass are the same thing, except when they're not,
and neither is red brass, except when it is. And both sound darker than
either yellow or red brass, except that they sound brighter when I play
them. Or darker, depending on who's listening. I play a yellow brass
bell because it's more clear, and because I can blend easier with most
tuba players and most tenor trombone players. It's also darker than the
red brass bell I used to play, except when I want it to be brighter.
(Actually, now I play a gold brass bell, except when I play a yellow
brass bell, unless I'm playing a bell that is an alloy somewhere in between that stopped being available after WWII.)
Oh, and nickel sounds darker than any brass alloy. Also, it sounds much, much brighter than any brass alloy.
Heavier bells sound bigger and hold together better at loud dynamics than lighter bells, which sound broader and stay warmer at loud dynamics than heavier bells.
And Sterling silver bells don't really exist. If you say you've ever seen or owned one, you're wrong. (That's a joke.)
Lacquer
and plating make no difference at all unless you think they do. In
which case they makes all the difference in the world, and you should
immediately get your instrument lacquered, de-lacquered, plated, or
re-plated.
How's that? Have I cleared everything up? Any other questions?
The simple facts are these: all else being as
equal as you can get it, different humans sound different playing the
same equipment, and the same humans sound different playing different
equipment, except when they are the kinds of humans who sound the same
no matter what equipment they play. These humans include most beginners and some of the best
musicians in the world.
