Frankly, I think the British make too big of a deal out of how bad the Barbican's acoustics are. Their orchestras tend to be thin in the lower strings, regardless of where they play. Their woodwinds are far from being the best as well. It's obvious to me that their cellos and double basses use light weight bows. You never see their double basses use German style bows, ever. As a result, their orchestras tend to sound all middle and top range, with insufficient lower midrange and bass. Their tuba players, on the other hand, are often times quite good. They like the tuba. When John Fletcher was still in the L.S.O. and was using his big Holton 345 (copy of the Chicago York, more or less), the orchestra sounded all middle and high end, with John Fletcher on the bottom. The double basses never kept up with him. Compare that to most German orchestras, where the concept is just the opposite - the tuba generally blends in with the double basses. The Bavarian Radio Symphony is an excellent 'case in point'.
