Eastman tuba build quality

[Scott Sutherland]

I have a friend who is a high end woodwind repairman and he speaks pretty highly of their woodwinds. I've been wondering the same thing about build quality. I know there are some incredible tuba players who are sponsored by them and that was sort of my question about musician sponsorship that I posted a week or so ago. Are these elite tuba players playing the same Eastman tubas that we get our hands on.

There is no difference between the Eastman tubas the artists play and the public has access to. In fact, I have found that the first few batches from the factory (many of which go to artists) are not quite as "dialed-in" as instruments a year or two after the release of the new model. I played a 836 that was SPECTACULAR (and definitely better than mine) at the Army Tuba Euphonium Workshop this past February (I picked my 836 out of a batch of 6 horns). The artists get the same instruments as everyone else, the difference is that often our input from play-testing leads to tweaks in future instruments (for instance, the aforementioned long third valve slide issue with the 853 Eb), making them even better!

[Jess Haney]

Anyone aware of where they are with the 6/4 Bb?

[Jesse Brook]

I work for a chain that gets our tubas built by Eastman. I've only seen student Eastmans, and they tend to hold up pretty well. They dent moderately easily, on a scale of old Besson to brand new Yamaha (I don't know why, but Yamahas in our rental fleet get BEAT on.). They have a fair amount of soldering problems, but those are decreasing. I had one tuba with a valve fit issue, quickly resolved with a bit of tapping (thankfully, their student tubas share valve sizes with Yamaha and their own euphoniums, so it's not hard to find the right tool). The cases are getting better, and are now equipped with quite decent hardware, and thankfully the scourge of the corudura-styro cases is long gone. The cases just need a bit more storage to make them perfect. The lacquer has improved over the last few years, and is now quite durable, among student brands. I'd put it slightly above Jupiter's in most cases. The threads are now reliable, and have been for the past 4 or 5 years. The slides are sometimes a bit loose, but these days the finish is really well-done.

[Wayne Rice]

I have a friend who is a high end woodwind repairman and he speaks pretty highly of their woodwinds. I've been wondering the same thing about build quality. I know there are some incredible tuba players who are sponsored by them and that was sort of my question about musician sponsorship that I posted a week or so ago. Are these elite tuba players playing the same Eastman tubas that we get our hands on.

There is no difference between the Eastman tubas the artists play and the public has access to. In fact, I have found that the first few batches from the factory (many of which go to artists) are not quite as "dialed-in" as instruments a year or two after the release of the new model. I played a 836 that was SPECTACULAR (and definitely better than mine) at the Army Tuba Euphonium Workshop this past February (I picked my 836 out of a batch of 6 horns). The artists get the same instruments as everyone else, the difference is that often our input from play-testing leads to tweaks in future instruments (for instance, the aforementioned long third valve slide issue with the 853 Eb), making them even better!

I played a brand new 836 out of the box today at Milano Music. Unbelievably good. I think it is definitely easier to play than the one I played a couple of years ago. Incredible. I also played the new sousaphone. Wow!