Vintage Eb tuba choices

[royjohn]

Hello All,

I have a Besson 3+1 BBb from about 1975 and a Keefer Eb 3 valve from 1913. I plan to keep both of these but was thinking of getting a 3+1 Eb also. I am a beginner and expect to play mostly in a community band and maybe a small group, so the Eb would not need to be symphonic, but would be used in small group and bigger band settings. I will get rid of some other instruments from my collection [why did I ever buy a marching mellophone??] to finance an Eb, but I can't see having more than about $1500 to spend on one any time soon. I was thinking of an older Boosey & Hawkes or something similar. I wouldn't be completely opposed to a 4 valve non-comp, either and had thought about a monster Eb.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. What older models would work best and what would be the specs [bell diameter, etc.].

royjohn

[imperialbari]

If you like your 3+1 BBb comper, you likely will be happy with a 3+1 Eb comper also. The name variant on one of the pre-1978 fifteen inch bell diameter Eb’s doesn’t matter. Only stay away from the transitional 19" Eb’s with the small receiver issued circa 1978-1982.

I will have no opinion on price levels in the US, but please make sure that the valves are not too worn, as a valve job on these 3+1 compers is said to be rather costly.

Klaus