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Maybe I'm just crazy but it seems like there are a ton (okay, not really) of these tubas for sale.

What's going on?

Students buy them because they want a 6/4 CC.. then realize they are not practical for most of their playing and don't project well... and sell them to buy something more suitable to the type of playing they are actually doing.

I get it... My son loved the one he played at Dillon, it sounded great in the practice room. If he didn't have multiple people advising him against a 6/4 CC at this point in his education/playing career he might have been on that train too.

gocsick wrote: Wed Oct 22, 2025 10:37 am Students buy them because they want a 6/4 CC.

And they think with a 6/4 CC they will sound just like Chris Olka.

I think this has been the “hot” new tuba for a while and people are looking for different fits. I love mine but it would NOT have been a good choice for me in college or at other various points in my life.

It’s “in” right now.

Just like the 2165 was “in” when it came out, and the Hirsbrunners, 45SLP’s, etc.

Everyone has their reasons - A LOT of them are probably younger players who want something a little smaller, a better fit for most ensembles, etc, etc.

I would bet another reason would be that it’s too big for a lot of things and some people want something more well rounded, or a better “one tuba family” kind of tuba.

Just speculating. I have a 6/4 and like having it.

After you graduate and get a job teaching...

After you fail to get a full time pro job playing....

After you realize that a music career is not for you....

After you flunk.....

You realize that you dont need a monster tuba and have to live in the real world with big bills to pay. Maybe you can sell that beast and recover something towards your debt.

Flavor of the day…

If I found myself with one, I'd be offering it for sale... Even if I had never caught the B-flat bug.

... Remember when a whole bunch of people were buying Miraphone 1291-2-3 C tubas, and then selling them later?

Remember the explosion of 45-SLPs being bought…

and then sold?

In some cases, their teacher forces it or friends play it and they feel they have to play the biggest horn possible to even stand a chance at an audition. A couple of people did well at auditions who used one and they have paid a few influencers to hype the model.

With that being said, someone was selling a Miraphone 129X CC, was advertising it as a learner horn, and I get on there and said I use mine professionally, know several people who use one in pro settings that he could market it better, and some kid with an Eastman 836 responded people aren’t using smaller horns who advance at auditions (noted to him there are many more ways to make money than taking auditions where a 6/4 wouldn’t work and a few orchestral players who use smaller horns).

So, recently, I’ve noticed several current students under Aaron Tindall doing well at auditions are using PT 6s and Thors, and a couple military band tubists have made comments about tuba clarity at auditions. A great symphonic tubist posted (then deleted) about his experience orchestral tenure, who used a 6/4, and the comments from the music conductor were his sound was too wide was a major thing to work on.

I think many younger tubists are starting to realize that clarity is more important on auditions then a 6/4 Yorkophone copy where many are inconsistent between models, and those using them to success are simply great musicians who are likely working harder than needed to get clarity.

Buyers remorse...

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