The Allora

[Richardrichard9]

Would the Allora AA186 BBb tuba be a suitable college instrument? Does anyone have any comments or experiences about it?

[Rick Denney]

Would the Allora AA186 BBb tuba be a suitable college instrument? Does anyone have any comments or experiences about it?

If it's a good one, it's a decent Chinese copy of a Miraphone 186. Allora is the house brand of the Brasswind, and they were reasonable for what they were.

Whether it's suitable for college or not depends on what you will be studying in college. If you are studying music education, I would think it would be fine, as long as the particular example is a good one.

For a performance major, however, I think you'll end up wanting to replace it soon, and you'll find it doesn't maintain its value as well as name brands (unless you are already buying it used).

And then there's the whole issue of whether to invest in a Bb tuba for a performance major, and only a discussion with your future instructor will give you a hint as to how that might go. Eventually, performance majors should be completely at home on C tubas, and competent on all four pitches of tubas. Those who find that too difficult my want to evaluate their objectives.

If you are considering a new instrument, I would always recommend purchasing a used name brand instrument with an excellent reputation (particularly for holding its value). You can never tell where your interests might lead you in the future, and a tuba that holds its value will give you more options if you need to make a change.

Rick "who would prefer a used Miraphone 186 to a new copy of it" Denney