Good "budget" Eb tuba?

[opus37]

I have 3 Ebs and love each of them for different reasons. Two pieces of advice. First, contact your repair person before you buy. There are some less expensive horns that they will not service because they are too fragile. If you are purchasing for the long term, you want something that will stand the test of time. Next, try it out first if you can. Ergonomics and sound very with horns. You want something comfortable and sounds good to you. First class horns (you know the names) will be noticeably more in tune across the range of the horn. That makes them more fun to play.

[Tom Eshelman]

I've owned 3 Besson tubas: a Sovereign, a 982, and a 983. I love the way Bessons slot notes, but you have to be careful not to get a stuffy one. My 982 that was stuffy. It takes a toll when you know every low Bb is going to take extra effort. 983's are of course designed to avoid any stuffiness issues - and it's a successful design. I consider it a bargain when you can get the same horn (the 983) that Patrick Sheridan played for around say $4000 used.

[Jess Haney]

Word of warning before you get too desperate...

do not consider a cerveny 641 Eb at all. I played one, and it was probably the worst tuba I've ever had the misfortune of playing. I would play a miraphone every day for the rest of my life before somebody could force me to pick up one of those again

I agree that Cerveny does have some playing problems. When I was in College two friends of mine both bought 686's because our school had one and they both loved it. The school horn was great but both of the horns they purchased were terrible. One had the 4th slide cut so short that it was 4 inches shorter than either of the other horns. To say the least both horns were sent back to Woodwind and Brasswind. the Miraphone 183 can be problomatic in either register. But the key is to try before you buy. The old conns are great if you are not confined to the front action horns since most are top poppers.

[J.c. Sherman]

There's nothing inherently more "open" about a 983 vs. a 982. However, the 983s consistently have valve stems long enough to port them properly; sometimes, the stems on the TA tubas are too short and then you get the stuffiness. I'd argue a great TA Besson is a tad more open if all's in proper repair and alignment.

[modelerdc]

I purchased a good used Boosey Flechter model E flat (essenttialy the same as a Besson) for $1450 plus shipping. Sound is big enough so that I don't get questioned about bringing a small tuba, slots well good intonation, as close to a point and shoot tuba as I've seen. Is it perfect?, no it has the usual love dents of a used tuba, a 983 would look more correct, and for a large orchestra or band a contrabass would have many advantages. But for the money I think it's hard to beat.

BTW the retailer who had this tuba thought it was a BB Flat, but their online photo clearly showed it was the E flat. The seller put it on ebay as a BB flat and suprise, no bids. After the auction closed I called their store and talked to the man who handled the online sales. He told me that they sent it out to a school for sale as a BB flat but it was sent back when the kids couldn't play it, and they had figured out that it was in E flat. Then he said the magic words, "we realize that a E flat tuba is not worth as much as a BB flat tuba, so what would you offer us for it?" so I offered 1250, and we settled at 1450 plus shipping. So there are some good buys, look for them and have some cash on hand when you find one.

[Uncle Markie]

I just took delivery on a Schiller EEb two weeks ago - my first EEb I have actually owned and a "return" to the EEb tuba after decades of BBb. Seems to work pretty well with Schilke 66 Helleberg and/or a Conn 2. It's anti-Alzheimer's effort - learning new fingerings for the same old notes at age 65.

Anyway - it was $2000 delivered. Shipped and packed exceedingly well, with a new wheeled case, etc. The stainless valves are tight and fast, all the slides work perfectly and the fit and finish as as good as my King 2341.

As much fun as vintage horns are - many seem overpriced to me, especially when you consider restoration expenses (been there and done that).

For the money the Schiller sounds big and round - with a pretty fat lower register as EEb tubas go. It's in tune to itself (the compensating thing works) and sings nicely upstairs. My point is a new horn with good mechanics allows you concentrate on making MUSIC with it. If you're serious about an EEb I would check the Schiller (Jin Bao) horn out.

One point to mention - if you are new to compensating horns - get used to snapping down those valves!

Mark Heter

[thattubaguy]

It's not the biggest tool in the shed, but this horn was up for sale over the weekend. It didn't last long before it was bought (by me) but it's an example if what's available out there if you look around.

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If this horn plays like I'm hoping it will, I'm going to add a 5th valve to it to give me the full chromatic scale down to the fundamental. I'll only have $1500 in it by the time I'm done.

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