So how many Tubas have YOU owned?

[Rick Denney]

Lessee...

Besson Stratford, traded for a valve trombone, in turn traded for:
Musica 4-valve F tuba, also traded away.
Sanders SM1314U—really a Cerveny 4-valve Bb 4/4. It and the Musica were traded for:
Miraphone 186, which I played for many years, but eventually traded it in.
Yamaha YFB-621 F tuba, the reason I no longer needed the Musica.
Vespro 4/4 Bb—made by VMI right after reunification, sold to a Baptist church after getting the 186 overhauled.

I owned only the Miraphone and the Yamaha for about a decade.

York Master Bb, B&M-made, great tuba that helped me cross a bridge. For sale but I’m not giving it away.
Conn 20J, just because. Came and went.
Holton BB-345. Great tuba for stages with shells, which I never play on. Not for sale. Bloke is right.
Conn 14K, just because. Hangs on the wall. Another one on the porch.
B&S Symphonie 5-valve F tuba, sold to fund:
B&S Symphonie-style 6-valve F tuba—my daily quintet horn.
Hirsbrunner HBS-193. What I traded my 186 (plus a lot of cash) for.

Projects:
Missenharter Eb chopped into almost F, nickname “Solder Practice”.
Martin fiberglass tuba that Art Hovey still grumbles about me buying, not without justification. It’s my old-age tuba. Or that’s the idea.

So, the current stable of regulars includes the Hirsbrunnner and the B&S, with the Holton and the Yamaha for when I need a change.

That totals 16, of which I still have half.

And then there are the two trombones, an Olds Ambassador and a Conn 48H. And a Besson New Standard euphonium.

Rick “not that many for nearly 50 years of playing” Denney

[vespa50sp]

Old thread, but I'll play. I always played on school horns and community band horns until I was 40 then:
- Besson 700 Bb (sold)
- Lyon and Healy Chicago Siver Piston Eb Helicon (for sale soon)
- LaSete Cold War German Eb (cranky, but sounds nice)
- Conn 28k Sousa (for sale soon)
- Conn 12j (sold)
- Conn 14k Sousa (sold)

Now that I'm retired and the kids are out of the house, I've given myself permission to buy something nice after I clean out the herd. I think I need to actually try out a bunch before I make a decision. Usually I've bought them sight unseen. In the meantime, I'll just play the LaSete.

[bort]

How many?

One less than I'm about to...

[DannyEldredTuba]

I’ve owned 6 tubas in my life, I only have two now.

My first tuba was a 4 valve BBb Carl Wunderlich that my mother purchased at a yard sale. They thought it was a euphonium and we bought it for $300. It was a terrible tuba and was extremely hard to play. When I started my undergrad I traded it in and bought a Miraphone 1295. This was also a terrible tuba. Anything below a G was almost impossible to play. It was the first tuba where my instructor said “you have to get a new tuba” a couple years later I traded that for a Meinl Weston 2145. I loved this horn so much, it was beautiful, intonation was spot on, low register was perfect. I was walking to my lesson in Baltimore and I got hit and fell backwards on it. It completely crushed. I luckily had Insurance on it and was able to get my current CC tuba, MW 5450 Thor. For F I bought a Meinl Weston 45SLP which was the easiest F tuba I’ve ever played. The low register was insanely easy for an F tuba. The only problem was I am a very heavy player and it did not sound anything like an F tuba when I played it. I traded that in for a B&S PT-10 which I still currently play. I think it has all the best parts of the 45SLP with out the heavy ness. But the low register is definitely not as good as the 45SLP.

TLDRL:
Carl Wunderlich BBb
MIraphone 2195 CC
Meinl Weston 2145
Meinl Weston 45SLP
Meinl Weston 5450 Thor (currently own)
B&S PT-10 (currently own)

[deputysgttuba]

Not many in almost fifty years of playing;
Mahillion F
Reynolds BBb converted from recording bell to upright.
Bohm & Meinl “Symphonic” CC
B&S PT-20P CC.
I wouldn’t mind an extra smaller CC as a spare....

[Timswisstuba]

About 100 for me.

[kingrob76]

Owned:

Cerveny Piggy
Miraphone 188
Yamaha 321 Eb
Kalison Pro 2000
Yamaha 621 F
Getzen CB-50
Miraphone 1291

Presently own:

Wessex Chicago Presence

That's about 35 years of instruments. In the case of the CC tubas I've always replaced one with another, and only the Piggy and the 1291 were brand new horns.

[bort]

I think I can connect the dots and remember which unnamed CC tuba you're talking about (after 45,000+ posts, not a lot of secrets remaining! ). All that just to say... I didn't realize you built the CC helicon THAT long ago.

[That1TubaGuy]

Only one, my Kalison Daryl Smith and it has done wonders since I have got it.

[Chris Mayer]

Me written in 2019:

. its a nice flash back on musical development. Now here is my tuba legacy:

1980-1985: Christian Reisser B 3/4 Tuba 3v
1984-2000: B&S F, non-PT, 6v, handmade unlacquered, gold brass, new (traded for a PT-6P in 2000)
1989-2012: Besson Class A, 3+1 comp, silver, made 1963
1990-1991: Cerveny Opera CC new (first approach to CC, sold for Alex 164)
1991-1996: Alexander 164, brass lacquered 4v used (traded for PT-3)
1996-2000: PT-3 handmade used (traded for PT-6P in 2000)
2000: PT-6P new (preparing for a potential musical mothball, family, job, thought, that piston valves are far more easy to get working after a longer period than rotaries. bigger, better ? yes, but quickly realized that with the loss of the F I have also lost versatility in playing....ok, dead end street.)
2000-2006: Besson 981 silver 3+1 comp (completing my tuba fingerings education with Es, ok comprimise on sound and flexibility versus F and B/ C tuba combo, very low mileage due to family and job, traded for PT-15 )
2006-2012: PT-15 gold brass, new ( end of tuba mothballing, job is not everything and music is a great work life balance, ...and the kids have grown up, 11 and 8 years then also playing music)
2010-2012: Alexander 163, brass, lacquered used (sound, sound, sound and the F needed a companion)
2012-2013: Alexander 156 3+3 F brass unlacquered, used , 1938 (gorgiuous sound, must have been stored somewhere for a long time as valves still had serious pop, in my opinion advantageous fingering eg 1r instead of 1+2, or 2+3r instead of 2+4)

- there was always a „reason“ for change and trade to progress
- always kept a F - B/C Combo - covering high/ solistic and fundamental areas as music demands
- expensive learning curve - should have stayed with my 2000 base F and CC combo thru 2012
- some regrets - should have kept the Alex 164 and not traded F and C in 2000 for mothballing basically on Besson 981

2012-2024: various french Horns (Alex 103, 1106, 107, 108, Paxman 25, Vienna Horn).. played in local bands and symphony setup (Akademic Philharmony Heidelberg, Alpine Symphony, Mahler 1, Dvorak 9) and five string double bass (Rachmaninov 2, Beethoven 8, Bruckner 8, Brahms 2, Sibelius 2), sold everything after fruitful expanding musical bandwidth

2024 : Alex 166 F/C double tuba, the one which was mentioned several times sitting at Alexanders since 2011, exceptional F tuba (sound is „heavier“ vs standard Alex F but with similar sweetness and ring, better than standard F tuba sound in the lower area due to C side
2024 : Lätzsch bass trombone Sl-570 Cieslik
2026 : Alex CC ( 60. birthday …)

best

Chris

[circusboy]

Five.

1920s York Monster EEb
1950s Miraphone F
1970s Mirafone 184 CC
1990s Yamaha 621 CC
1980s Cerveny 601 BBb, the only one I still have

[Lew]

(Old post, but since it just popped up I thought I'd add my 2 cents.) This came from a spreadsheet I had saved, so the format isn't great, but I didn't want to bother cleaning up the columns. The numbered ones are those I no longer own. I downsized before I retired, but I don't think I ever had more than about a dozen at any one point in time. This doesn't count all the baritones, euphoniums (euphonia?) including double bell, alto horns, and other instruments I had owned over the years.

1 Helicon ?? ?? 3 Valve Brass Helicon BBb
2 Helicon Buescher Silver plated, 3 piston valves Eb
3 Helicon Henry Distin Superior Silver plated, 3 piston valve, 30" bell BBb
4 Helicon J.W. York & Sons Silver plated 3 piston valve Eb
5 Sousaphone Buescher 3 valve, raincatcher Eb
6 Sousaphone C.G. Conn Silver Plated, 4 valve raincatcher BBb
7 Sousaphone Conn 36K Gold painted fiberglass sousaphone with 24" brass bell BBb
8 Sousaphone C.G. Conn 20K Brass Lacquer, 3 short action valves BBb
9 Sousaphone C.G. Conn 40K Silver Plated, 4 valve BBb
10 Sousaphone C.G. Conn 28K Silver plated, 4 valve Eb
11 Sousaphone Elkhart 3 piston valve, brass Eb
12 Sousaphone Keefer Silver Plated, 3 piston valve Eb
13 Sousaphone Keefer Silver Plated, 3 piston valve BBb
14 Sousaphone Keefer Silver Plated, 3 piston valve Eb
15 Sousaphone King 2350 Brass, 3 piston valve Bb
16 Sousaphone King, H. N. White 1250 Silver plated brass, 3 piston valve Bb
17 Sousaphone King, H.N. White Raincatcher Silver plated, 3 valve, raincatcher Eb
18 Sousaphone King, H.N. White Cleveland Silver plated, 3 piston valve BBb
19 Sousaphone Reynolds Brass, 3 piston valve Eb
20 Sousaphone Reynolds Contempora Silver plated 3 valve Eb
21 Sousaphone York Monster 3 valve, raw brass BBb
22 Sousaphone York 3 valve Brass Sousaphone Eb
23 Tuba Besson Class A, Prototype Silver plated, 3 upright piston valves BBb
24 Tuba Besson Brass 3 valve top action, compensating BBb
25 Tuba Besson 785 Silver plated, 3 top action compensating piston valves Bb
26 Tuba Boosey & Hawkes Regent Silver plated, 3 upright piston valve BBb
27 Tuba Boston Musical Instrument Manufactory Bombardon Silver plated 3 piston valve Eb
28 Tuba C.G. Conn Worcester Silver plated, 3 front action piston valves BBb
29 Tuba C.G. Conn 22J Silver plated, 3 front, short action piston valves BBb
30 Tuba C.G. Conn 21J Brass, 3 upright valves BBb
31 Tuba C.G. Conn 21J 3 upright piston valves, upright bell, BAT BBb
32 Tuba C.G. Conn 21J Brass, 3 upright valves BBb
33 Tuba Conn International 97J Rose brass, 4 rotary valve, BBb
34 Tuba Henry Distin Highest Grade Brass, 3 upright valves Eb
35 Tuba Henry Distin Highest Grade Silver Plated Brass, 3 upright valves Eb
36 Tuba Henry Distin Superior 3 upright piston valves Eb
37 Tuba Holton Brass, 4 valve, front action, detachable recording bell BBb
38 Tuba Keefer Brass, 3 upright piston valves Eb
39 Tuba Keefer Superior/Highest Grade Silver plated, 3 valve upright Eb
40 Tuba King 1291 Brass, 4 rotary valve BBb
41 Tuba King 2341 Satin Silver, 4 front action piston valve BBb
42 Tuba Martin Brass lacquer, 3 upright valves, recording bell BBb
43 Tuba VMI 3302 Brass, upright bell, 5 valve, 4 front action piston, 1 thumb rotor. BBb
44 Tuba York Monster 4 valve, silver plated, side action, upright bell Eb

Plus the ones I currently own:
Tuba Besson Sovereign 983 Silver plated 4 compensating front action piston valves Eb
Helicon Henry Distin Superior Silver plated, 3 piston valve BBb
Tuba Henry Distin Highest Grade Silver Plated, 3 upright piston valves BBb
Sousaphone York Musical Instruments Brass 3 piston valve sousaphone Eb
Tuba Eastman EBB226 Brass 3/4 sized 4 valve BBb