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When we talk about the invention of the tuba, Weiprect (sp?) and Moritz always get mention because they invented a skimpy little F tuba back in 1835 that bears little resemblance to most any tuba made in the last 100+ years.

Adolphe Sax is well known for the invention of the saxophone, but he was also the inventor of the various saxhorns, which tubas also are descended from.

https://www.selmer.fr/en-int/blogs/info ... dolphe-sax


Cerveny invented both CC and BBb contrabass tubas, as well as rotary valves. 'Nuff said.

https://www.vfcerveny.cz/en/about-us

Discuss

In fact the tuba was invented twice as two different instruments.
1. The Moritz/Wieprecht F-tuba with 5 Berlin valves. This was a completely new kind of brass horn to play (like a woodwind) chromatically from the lowest (pedal) notes. The fingering layout was different of what we use today with 1 and 2 on the left hand, a perfect 4th as 3 on the right hand and a long 1 and 2 on the right. If you turn this pattern around you find a modern 6-valve F layout missing the 3rd valve (this was later introduced with the vienna layout as 3 on left hand!)

2. All the others, bass sized bugles with more and more valves over the time. Starting with Riedl or Uhlmann the oversized trumpet/flügelhorn type came with three or four valves, starting the playing range from the first partial like the trombone centuries before. Our "traditional" valve layout with 1=whole step and 2=half step was developed with the introduction of the valves in this order to trumpets and french horns, one valve at a time. To get lower the length of the bugle was increased to the now standard Bb and C tuba, guessing that the missing or weak notes in the octave between fundamental and first partial wouldn't be needed. Since then the most composers and arrangers (for not F-tuba concert stuff) tend to write in way that everything can be played on a 3-valve Bb.contrabass tuba.

Cerveny made great instruments which influenced the overall tuba design until today, the part of Sax in this is more difficult to see. But having the most of his patents about brass instruments (only a small part of them are about the bass clarinet and this saxophone) a bit of him is still in every horn until today.

My impression from long ago reading up on cerveny, they made excellent rotary valves, and made them available for other instrument builders in the late 1800s so their influence is more extended than merely the instruments that bear their name.

But it has been a while since i read that, so i couldn't say where (other than on the greater internet) i read that.

The History of the Tuba Podcast

https://substack.com/@historyofthetuba/ ... are-action

Thanks, Jake! Hope you are well, sir!

Wade

Cerveny offers a very interesting 6/4 BBb alternative at a fair price level still today:

https://www.kirstein.de/Tuben/Cerveny-C ... V0QAvD_BwE

I am sure that this tuba, due to the collaboration of Stefan Kühndorf, comes very close to the ideal of a large BBb Kaisertuba.

I haven't found this particular tuba in the various BBb Kaiser recommendations here.

Snake Charmer wrote: Tue Nov 18, 2025 12:27 am

Cerveny made great instruments which influenced the overall tuba design until today, the part of Sax in this is more difficult to see. But having the most of his patents about brass instruments (only a small part of them are about the bass clarinet and this saxophone) a bit of him is still in every horn until today.

The British top-action piston tubas and euphs are pretty much direct descendents of the saxhorn. The French and Belgium top-action piston tubas are too. And I'd argue the old top-action piston US tubas are at least indirect offshoots of the saxhorn. The bells and sometimes the bore expanded in size over time...

Modern front-action tubas -- both piston and rotary -- are mixed offshoots from old tubas and saxhorns. Most of today's tubas are 'mutts'