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Into the '00 years, all I owned was my F tuba. It's a remarkable instrument, which is why I was able to get by only playing that one instrument (along with playing bass...but whatever on that).
I had owned some C instruments (one at a time). I'm not going to discuss why I was disappointed with each of them, because I'll likely receive responses from people who own those models, and that's not why I'm posting.

As far as C instruments are concerned, the first one I bought (AFTER the C moratorium... again, NOT discussing those that I had owned previously) was a Gronitz PCK, and then (selling that one to a full-time professional) a 5450 (which was the last one that I owned). I had also built myself a remarkably nice playing (in every respect) five valve C helicon made of Buescher 4/4 sousaphone and tuba parts which many remember, as well as going through a parade of 6/4 C tubas (which I eventually all found to be tedious).

It's pretty hard (as overly-prolifically as I post here) to miss the fact that I've moved over to B flat instruments in the past few years (boredom? European traditions? resonance? tendency towards easier intonation characteristics?)

The thing is that the F tuba has just sat and sat and sat and sat, as I've been determined to be as comfortable with B-flat (and my two go-to B flat instruments in particular) as I previously was playing C instruments.

Last night I picked up the F tuba and decided to give myself a little test. I played one of the Rochut/Bordogni exercises over in Book III which is in F sharp minor and then F sharp major (one of those few which I still had not checked off).
OK... I got through it, but I had to do a lot o' thinkin':
Oddly, I found myself sight-singing (in my head) the written passages I was reading and playing (long ago burned into my head) fingering patterns (the scales and arpeggios I was hearing in my head from sight-singing) - on the F tuba - rather than actually reading the notes, as - again - the automatic connection a valve combinations to the named pitches (with the F instrument) become rusty, and was substituting another (two-stage) way of reading...

...so I'll return to playing the F instrument, and not ignoring it.
(I actually have pulled the F instrument out for a few quintet engagements, those are always just gigs (not recitals) whereby I haven't had any problem reading those charts and playing the F tuba, but I can tell that my reading ability (given last night's test) has softened.

Finally, that instrument is absolutely a true pleasure to play:
intonation, legato, low air demand yet high level of resonance output (extraordinarily long phrases possible, sort of as with oboe players...with the luxury of being able to choose to ignore chances to breathe), beautiful resonance (as long as I stick my mouth on the mouthpiece in some sort of way).

Trombone sections have always liked this instrument, regardless of whether the particular literature is typically played on a contrabass tuba or not.

...but I need to sustain my ability to - with this instrument - sightread and mash the correct buttons. and without having to resort to some two stage process.

I'm getting better at mashing the right levers (no buttons for my skinny fingers) on the Eb and am only moderately confused between it and the F/Bb horn. Moderately. Since one is right handed and the other left, I think that helps the feeble aging brain with the pattern recognition.

@Mary Ann

yeah levers

I haven't found any piston F tubas that can easily be played in tune.



I play E flat on dixie jobs, but I never practice playing it.
It seems to know which notes to play without me telling it...
... and I've never developed any really good reading skills with E-flat...' never had the need.

I did the same thing in Friday, playing BBb on stuff I'm comfortable with on CC.

Solfege is the key to the universe.

(I have a hard time getting past the PT-15 to get to the 186, and I love my 186. B&S F tubas should be handled like narcotics, and you've got one of the best ones.

The only B&S F I ever played belonged to Mark Nelson (probably still does) and I was comparing it to the MW 182 I had. The B&S definitely had an easier low register, and I suspect it was at least in league with the NStar in that respect, and maybe even easier. I am a way better player now than I was then, too, so if I wanted to play an F again (I don't) it would at least be interesting to give a go to one of those.

Yeah that's exactly it... Solfege, but sort of like the speed readers who read a paragraph or page at a time... We've (I don't know how old you are..??) been reading music for so damn long that we can glance at a measure, know what the MEASURE sounds like (or a few measures sound like) and then play them by ear with fingering patterns instead of thinking about the note names.


..and that's also why the double sharps don't bother us, because we're not really reading them.

solfege...
Yeah. That's how I was getting by playing in F sharp minor and major with the F tuba after hardly playing it at all for 2 or 3 years.

Thanks for coming up with correct word for what I was trying to describe.

... but I need (so-called remote keys) to be able to read the regular/mechanical way as well (as in the past, when I spent more time with the instrument).

I think it's easiest that way, when I think about the combinations, it's like playing CC and BBb at the same time with a few weirdo combinations in the middle.