Gronitz or Hirsbrunner?

[Lew]

Yes. Seriously, both are great horns and you wouldn't go wrong with either. I'm assuming that you've checked intonation tendencies on both. Also make sure that both are equally comfortable for you to play, hold, etc. for any length of time. Hirsbrunners are known for their high quality, but Gronitz owners seem to love them too. Good luck.

[cjk]

Gronitz PCK

[Tubadork]

Hands down
Gronitz

[Paul S]

Gronitz PCK

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Gronitz are okay as is the HB-20. I use the Hirsbrunner HB-2P and nothing in my opinion comes close to its quality of tone, intonation, pitch and overall construction and workmanship.


Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
www.oberloh.com

[UDELBR]

I use the Hirsbrunner HB-2P and nothing in my opinion comes close to its quality of tone, intonation, pitch and overall construction and workmanship.

Interesting. While certainly a very "shiny tuba", when I took my HB-21 apart, I found several construction and assembly faults, any of which could (and probably did) have had a significant impact on the way this horn played.

Gronitz, any day.

[Dylan King]

My Yorkbrunner is the best CC tuba I have tried to date. I have a feeling the new YamaYork may top it. But the Swiss appear to have an easy time crafting complicated items like tubas.

Then again, from my experience Yorkbrunners have quite an individality to their playing characteristics, and I assume that is also the case with smaller Hirsbrunner tubas. Custom Music sent me a Yorkbrunner to try for a month before I bought mine, and I really thought it was great, but they didn't let me keep that one. Luckily the one they sent me played even better. I know since then they have manufactured parts for them, and they are most likely more consitent then the older hand made versions. I also tried Gene's Yorkbrunner, and didn't like it at all.

Make sure you toot on both horns before you buy. Advise from a bunch of tuba nerds on the internet is no real basis for choosing the tuba that is right for you.

[Kevin Miller]

Doc and Bloke slyly make a good point. If these are both good quality built horns and have such similar playing characteristics; you pick the horn that "fits" you best. Fit is a many faceted topic.

1. What kind of playing do you do? Maybe you could get together a group of trombone chums and other assorted sets of ears. Find a big room and play through some excerpts. Have some educated ears there to listen and do a blind play test. Play each excerpt on both horns and see who likes which horn's sound, blend, weight....etc.

Play the kind of stuff you will play on a regular basis. Get some objective opinions and temper them with your gut feel. Pick the one with the sound and intonation, and response that fits you. Don't pick the horn that works for us, pick the horn that works for you.

One good thing I have noticed in the tuba world lately is the relaxing of horn/brand snobbery. So many people are doing great things with so many different horns. The idea that you must have that one brand of horn to win a job is ridiculous. Think of the Dixie and Polka guys (and military guys) making steady money playing SOUSAPHONES! The bastard of the tuba family. Then there's those figerglass horns. Those are the crazy uncle no one talks about. By the way Doc (from whom I purchased a fixer-upper Conn 22K), I'm sending that thing in soon for overhaul. I'll post before and after pics.



My .02 worth:

I owned an HB20 for a while and it was just ok. It seemed more squirrelly than a big money horn should be. I sold it and continued with my Besson 981 EEb exclusively for many years. Almost 2 years ago I got a VMI 3302 BBb. For me, this horn plays circles around the HB20 I owned, and for literally half the price. It's a matter of personal fit and preferenes