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

[prairieboy1]

Meinl Weston 2145, with PT 50 mouthpiece. Easy decision.

Ace

Quoted for truth!!

[Oedipoes]

Hirsbrunner HBS 192 BBb with 5 valves (rotary).

[Casca Grossa]

My TNFJ answer is Mirafone 188. Now I will leave the building.

[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.

[arpthark]

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

Didn't want to say this, as this thread is full of folks tooting their own horns (literally! and nothing wrong with touting your own equipment of course), but I own one of these and I can't imagine a scenario in which I wouldn't be comfortable playing it. Nimble, buoyant, fantastic intonation.

I don't think the timbre would be quite right for Berlioz, as Marty's original post said, but with a smaller mouthpiece it might get close, or at least close enough for jazz.

[bloke]

Just for the record, I've only owned a 2155 that I only played for a day or two (and then put up - so I wouldn't damage it, and then sold it... not even one gig). They're not even made anymore, and I wouldn't want one unless it was altered as I specified. Further, I'm trying to wean myself from the USA/C tuba nicotine.

[Grumpikins]

I was going to say the MW 2145, however I agree with the other person about it having a definite volume threshold. The 2155 would be better suited for the large orchestral works . But might be a bit unwieldy for chamber stuff.

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[bloke]

I didn't put a smaller mouthpipe on that perfect/new-looking 2155 that I bought and flipped, but I did do that for a couple of other people - one of which I actually made detachable and interchangeable, so I was able to compare them.

The 2155 really isn't much - if any - larger than a 188, but the huge mouthpipe makes it seem as if it's a 5/4 tuba... and that huge oem mouthpipe also deadens the upper overtones a good bit.

With a smaller mouthpipe - such as the ever-popular 45SL-P mouthpipe - the 2155 begins to live where it belongs (in the large 4/4 realm). Suddenly, it picks up a lot of that 24th partial resonance, which makes tubas (which vibrate that way) sound so very nice...

...so when Baltimore Brass special ordered them that way from the factory, they were designated as 2 _ _ _ ...(??)

[bort2.0]

...so when Baltimore Brass special ordered them that way from the factory, they were designated as 2 _ _ _ ...(??)

It was called the "2145 BBC Edition" (and said so on the bell)

As I understand it:
17.x" bell (said to be "larger", but I'm not sure if that's just the eventual change they all got from 16.5", or it it was otherwise different.)
Way cut down inner tube lengths (said to have been unnecessarily long)
Lifted leadpipe/something with a brace there
Other secret mods that Dave wouldn't tell me... And in case he died or something, then Albert (and only Albert) knew about them

When I lived in Baltimore, I would go over to the shop every once in a while and check things out. There's one time when they had three or four of the BBC models and one or two of the regular 2145s. The silver 2145 BBC was absolutely a tremendous instrument.

For a brief time plus the 20 years ago, I played in a band alongside a army field band staffer, who was also a tuba player. He had a 2145 and used a PT-88. Unbelievable sound and amount of sound. Probably the player, and not the horn. But entirely possible that it was both the player and the horn.

[bloke]

@bort2.0

Yeah, I knew that they had a special version of a 2145, but did they not also have a special version of the 2155 with a smaller mouthpipe, or is that just something that I misunderstood?

[Pauvog1]

@bort2.0

Yeah, I knew that they had a special version of a 2145, but did they not also have a special version of the 2155 with a smaller mouthpipe, or is that just something that I misunderstood?

Didn't either Dillon music or someone offer a 2157, which was a modified 2155 right before the Thor came out?

[TheHatTuba]

2157 had 45slp pipe and larger 480 mm/18.9" bell. Funny that the Thor also went from 450 to 480 mm in the bell department.

I like the 2145 as well, but given the criteria (and the fact Mr. Neilan is forcing us to exclude "the answer" for ), the 4/4 yorkophone got my vote.

[bloke]

Thank-you. 2157 was it, and whether or not it was Baltimore Brass or "any dealer".

Pancake bell extensions seem to be out of favor. I wonder if Miraphone is going to retreat back to the 420mm bell on the 186?
I sort of doubt it, because they sell so many to schools, and that would make them easier to tump.

... I would still pick that model (2155... and worry about the mouthpipe later) 2-to-1 over the 3225 (though a 19-in bell on the 2157 version would probably prompt me to scrunch up my face) but/and to each their own.

[TheHatTuba]

Isn't the 3225 just a GR41/PT606P with their standard valveset (and sure, other stuff)? That's not where I'd start if making a new CC, 2155 existing or not.

[bort2.0]

Isn't the 3225 just a GR41/PT606P with their standard valveset (and sure, other stuff)? That's not where I'd start if making a new CC, 2155 existing or not.

As far as I know... No.

[cktuba]

Meinl Weston 2157... wasn't that a 2155 with 45slp leadpipe and a B&S PT-606 bell?

[arpthark]

Meinl Weston 2157... wasn't that a 2155 with 45slp leadpipe and a B&S PT-606 bell?

To clear up the 2157 chatter, here is @Matt Walters in 2016:

The Meinl Weston 2157 was a 2155 with a 19" bell from the Apollo F tuba and the now very popular 45SLP leadpipe. Meinl agreed to make a custom tuba for only us so that we wouldn't have to sell below dealer cost to match the pre-bankruptcy prices of Woodwind and Brasswind. They said, "we'll have to charge you more money but it is an exclusive for you." We got in the first batch and they were GREAT. Even at an extra couple hundred dollars, our more discriminating customers will buy them. Meinl's next response was, "Great. Now that you just bought a bunch of these tubas at a premium price, we're coming out with a new model 5/4 CC tuba [5450] that is going to cost even less than the stock 2155 and of course less than your even more expensive 2157".
There is a little back story for you about some of the crap a few Meinl Weston dealers had to go through while other dealers were given preferential treatment and terms in those pre-Buffet Group days.

[Dents Be Gone!]

I agree, guys. This is the way to go.

[bloke]

Gnagey CC? Mine was pretty good, but a larger BBb ended up being a better choice for wind band.

Those, Eastman 4/4 (6XX or 8XX), CB, Conn 5XJ, are all similar...regardless of which one some individual prefers.

[Grumpikins]

You guy have me wondering if I should change the lead pipe on my 2145....

However, I have no complaints about it since I had the reciever angle modified so that I dont hurt my neck playing it anymore.

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