Best do-it-all CC tuba that isn't 186/188

[martyneilan]

Did I answer?

It's the 2155, hands down.

No the "13" was for it being in BBb which I believe you have switched to recently. I was a big advocate of BBb for a long time, even playing BBb for most of my limited conservatory training. Some of the best tubas I have ever owned have been BBb - Miraphone 190, Martin 6/4. I played on a Marzan 4R BBb at a school that had a sound nearly as good as the CSO York, I should have stuck with that horn and tried to buy it when the school traded it off.

A modded 2155 or a 2000 is a very good horn but probably not in my budget; this instrument is a similar size. I have owned several horns with this bell profile in the past, you may have even worked on one of them. 'nuff said for now. I would rather not state the specific horn in the event I decided not to keep it, as I don't want to risk tainting it for the seller or future owner.

[dp]

Without reading over three pages of comments I still feel sure enough to say that almost every horn I'd be happy to recommend to a parent who has excitedly found a used instrument for their kid has been mentioned. Plus I feel sure enough to say that I could be genuinely supportive if said parent had already excitedly bought any of the horns mentioned. And I also feel sure enough to answer Marty's question about best do it all that isnt a 186 or 188 by saying "why ? there are none better"
I know, I could gradually drift myself into a cornfield by starting to make allusions to different brands of beer or single malts, political candidates or bargaining units, or actresses. Maybe a good poll would be "what actress is the 186/188 of actresses?"

[iiipopes]

The model number has changed, but Jupiter makes a couple of 4/4 CC tubas that have a good reputation. If budget is a concern, I have the BBb version which is great value-for-money.

[Pauvog1]

Did I answer?

It's the 2155, hands down.

Agreed, but I might be a little biased

[tclements]

My opinion: Hirsbrunner HB2. - Good luck.

[arpthark]

Best CC under 10k? Eastman 832.

Had a student buy one over the weekend. Incredible horn

[kingrob76]

The Getzen G/CB-50 or the Stofer CC. With Lee's modifications these horns deserve a second look from a lot of players, and even without the mods these are really good Unitaskers.

The handmade Nirschl 4/4 is really nice.

I owned a 1291 and would put it in this category and maybe the 1292, but not the 1293 which to me just feels "bigger" than I would prefer for the smaller work listed.

And the Eastman 832 deserves a look. I've never played one I didn't like.

Amending this - scratch the Nirschl. Played one recently that definitely felt bigger than 4/4, not sure I'd want to drive it in small settings.

I really do think it's the Getzen or the Eastman 832. The Getzen is HEAVY, the 832 is l i g h t. If you like thicker metal instruments with absolutely terrible silver plating the Getzen is your friend. My ONLY concern about the 832 was the ability to get some different colors out of it, but, I didn't have the chance to do that at the Army workshop.

[matt g]

Regarding this topic, I think the ECB-632/832 answer this question as well as the 186/188 but with a different color palette.

And to that point, one of the horns I’m selling is even better with regards to response and feel.

[Mark E. Chachich]

For me:

Alexander 163

I have played it in minor orchestras, bands, circus bands, jazz, solo, brass quintets and a substitution with the Baltimore Symphony, etc. My Alex never let me down. I think that Brett's (Bort) comments were spot on about the Alex.

Mark

[russiantuba]

A good Kalison Daryl Smith model.



Note—I wouldn’t buy one without playing first.

[Sousaswag]

When we say “do it all” to me that means:

Band
Orchestra
Quintet/Chamber Ensembles
Solo
Teaching
And anything in between that you can’t fit into one of these categories

When I see all of that, I’d still probably say the small bell Thor. It can be big when it needs to be, but that bell size gives it enough clarity for the smaller ensemble situations.

Notice, it’s bigger than most other things we’ve mentioned. Personal taste, maybe? I think it’s easier to dial back a larger horn than push a smaller one to make it work.

[wagnertuba262]

I have done this on my HB2 (Rotor) equally as well as I could have on my old CC186-5U.

Changing nothing but the mouthpiece, what CC tuba could equally:
Play Respighi in a full orchestra
Play Berlioz in that same orchestra
Play a brass quintet
Play a recital level solo.

[bloke]

Here's why polls such as these are TFFJ ("freak jury") polls...

Making this one a specific example, none of them begin with anything resembling,

After listing all of the models of C tubas that you yourself have played extensively - along with with the types of settings and with whom you regularly perform, ...

[martyneilan]

I always seem to prefer bigger over smaller, so this it what I found: a nearly century old Conn BBb that would be considered 4/4+
It is similar in size to a 4/4 Nirschl or PT606/GR41 but with a little more bell - 20" with a constant flare to the end, no pancake; it is bigger than a 56J/G50. This is basically the same bones as the (real or fake) Donatelli CC I had circa 2011-2012 but 2 feet longer. There was a lot to like about that horn (and a few minor quirks), but I think this improves on it by being the length C.G. Conn intended. I have tried it with a Baer F in quintet and a Baer CC in a wind ensemble. I may want to go something a little bigger for large ensemble use (PT50?) to offset the .734 bore. The tuba has a huge but clear and focused sound and a lot of color. Low register "pops" like a 186 but with a different - and to my ears better - tone color. I am still getting acclimated to it but pitch doesn't seem to be anything that can't be easily managed, the Donatelli had a few minor quirks in the lower register that this doesn't. I showed my daughter one of the pictures and she said, "I thought you were getting a medium sized tuba." Compared to my other horn, this IS medium sized

PXL_20240214_001452156.PORTRAIT-1.jpg (150.97 KiB) Viewed 1735 times

[bloke]

I changed my mind...
...but I can't reveal the answer, because - if y'all buy them too - I will not longer have the upper hand when we all audition for the East McKeesport Philharmonic Principal Tuba job.

' see y'all at Symphony Hall !




Don't tell anyone:
Sight-reading is the Janáček 2nd tenor tuba part (B-flat treble clef).

[martyneilan]

I changed my mind...
...but I can't reveal the answer, because - if y'all buy them too - I will not longer have the upper hand when we all audition...

I'm still waiting for your 6/4 B Natural tuba for the audition circuit. When the cloners get a hold of it, it will be named "Ride."

[jtm]

After listing all of the models of C tubas that you yourself have played extensively - along with with the types of settings and with whom you regularly perform, ...

With bloke's suggested form:

My brief limited experience with C tubas includes

• B&S "Musica" tallish 4/4 5V rotary C. Fantastic deal for $2k, very well behaved, sounded great. I probably should have just kept it and stopped there.
• a lovely little 4V rotary Scherzer from Augsburg. It's wrapped a lot like a 188, just slightly smaller. Sounds good; 5th partial E leans a little flat, but not bad, and everything else has good intonation, even the very high end.
• a 188. The premise of the thread is that I can't choose this to do it all, but it does a lot pretty well. It's fun and easy.

I'm regularly in a community wind ensemble. It focuses on movie music, so there's plenty of low bouncy John Williams stuff. I'm also in a brass band, playing Eb bass parts. I like smaller groups, too, but haven't found (or started) any to do regularly.

So ... my current do-it-all for my limited settings is an early '80s rotary F (a lot like Joe's but not quite as amazing). For the movie music rehearsal this week, with a blokepiece Symphony, it was surprisingly agile and solid at the low end, and I can play a lot more pedal E and Eb without running out of air than with a bigger tuba. A trumpet player said, "that was a great rich orchestral tuba sound tonight." And it's got the sound I want for covering string bass or contrabassoon queues, anyway. Honestly, the more I play this tuba, the better it gets.

[bloke]

I suspect that John is one of those players who plays quite a bit better than he lets on. His signature suggests that he's been improving a whole lot lately, and I suspect he has improved a lot from being a really fine player already.
--------------------
As far as holding out loud low pitches is concerned, those mouthpieces with the giant throats and the mouthpipe tubes that begin at something like 6/10 of an inch, I just don't see how they can hold out much of anything for a very long. One thing about the Miraphone 98 is that the mouthpipe tube begins only slightly larger than I probably would have preferred, but I fixed it with stepping down from an 8.2mm mouthpiece throat to an 8mm throat - easy fix. (Isn't it interesting how easier is almost always more fun?)

[jtm]

Bloke is too kind, sometimes.

I will say that this F tuba is not a CC tuba, but it might be a pretty good do-all-the-things-I-need tuba, mostly. It was great for the movie music concert, and it's doing really well for the brass band Eb parts.

Very probably, I'll want to use a bigger tuba for some things, after I've done enough figuring out what I can do with the F.

Anyway, the 16 month F tuba adventure has helped me stop thinking of myself as just a bassoon player who carried a sousaphone in the college marching band to meet people besides other engineering majors.