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YBB-321/201

Yep. It's the make and model that everyone loves to hate, which also happens to be the one that gets messed up the worst, when school children knock it over...

... a badly-misses-the-mark copy of a Besson, and - by the way - whereby most Bessons were three-valve compensating.

All the high schools around me have blown their budget on Miraphone 186s. I don't know how representative that is though.. I am in a more affluent urban area in the middle of a struggling rural state. A few counties over schools blow their entire budget on gigantic football stadiums but hardly have a music program at all.

For professional use: York copy 6/4.

matt g wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 6:45 amYBB-321/201

I played one in high school. HATED that tuba! The only thing worse than the tuba was it's gargantuan hard case. Into which I delicately placed an already-damaged instrument.

Those Yammies are everywhere!

When I was in HS, we had the (arguably worse) YBB-641’s.

Nowadays, all the college kids are using the cheap York copies. Id agree with 6/4 York copy, but amend it with the word “cheap” in front of it.

bloke wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 7:09 am Yep. It's the make and model that everyone loves to hate, which also happens to be the one that gets messed up the worst, when school children knock it over...

... a badly-misses-the-mark copy of a Besson, and - by the way - whereby most Bessons were three-valve compensating.

I owned a late-90s/early-00s vintage Besson 994 that I bought from WW&BW from their B-stock for a song, like $2,800. No idea why it was so cheap. It played incredibly well and had a wonderful sound. Fiddling with the first valve slide on the fly being very difficult being kept aside, it was pretty fun to play.

Made me wonder how badly the Yamaha folks copied that. Probably the larger bore and other silly things that ruined it.

Ironic in that the Yamaha copy of the Besson stuff and the copy of the MW-20/25 are pretty awful but the York copy is really good.

Maybe if they copied everything as well as they copied and improved upon the York they would have to charge $40,000 for every tuba they make?

Old and new style king 2341 and the Eastman copy thereof in my neighborhood.

The same school that trashed that four valve detachable bell Reynolds so badly I know also owns a Miraphone 186. When I walked in to the band room- after quite a few years of not servicing that school, the one tuba player was using a YBB-201 that I had not seen in the past. I have to assume that the 186 was also hopelessly trashed and up on some dusty shelf.

Can only speak regionally, having judged a lot of all regional and all state band auditions here, but I see a lot of King 2341, Yamaha 641s and 321s, and recently Chinese horns like the Hirsbrunner BBb copy and things like that.

Considering the entire gamut of institutions and amateur players, I would hazard either the King 2341 (old and new styles) or the Yamaha 201/321 are the most common.

I have a theory that the most money that is made by large manufacturers and other large corporations/companies - is made either manufacturing bad products or delivering bad services...and that (even were they "good") - most of such things are priced at 2X or more what would be considered by most to be a "handsome mark-up over cost". (I don't blame the corporations. I point towards the consumers...Hey: Look how consumers vote, and how consumers answer questions on polls - polls which cover all sorts of aspects of human existence.)

bloke "...and - speaking of which - I've also wondered how little of a product needs to be assembled in Japan for it to be stamped "MADE IN JAPAN".

The most common tubas I see around here are all Eastmans. Most of the HS’s around here are buying 534s. The 632 is the most popular among CC tubas followed closely by the 836 6/4. I’m happy with my Hirsbrunner.

I think the answer is actually Hüttl Kaiser BBbs, closely followed by the Yamaha YCB-826, with the venerable Keefer Eb helicon rounding out the top three.

I think the Eastmans are just too new yet to be the most common.

Yamaha has had a line on the student market forEVER!

I think the Eastmans are better players, but regardless, Yammie 321 wins this battle!

Based on what I see around here, the most commonly used tuba is the Miraphone model 98.

"...lies, damned lies, and statistics”
- Samuel Clemens, who himself attributed this quote to Benjamin Disraeli

I’m pretty sure that the EBB-534 is gaining popularity especially since it seems like King can’t turn out enough 2341s to meet demand. Still a long way to go to beat out the 321/201, I’d reckon.

I also suspect that 321/201s are principally made (at least all of the parts and pieces) in China. Best part about that is that it seems like the only company really interested in importing those things is Yamaha. Well, Schiller has them listed but they seem to sell anything that can be imported, good or bad.

Chevy Malibus are popular in rental fleets.

I'm somewhat suspicious that Yamaha's Chinese production began way back when "coarse threads" and plastic valve guides piston models first appeared...but this is ONLY a suspicion.