Should I Upgrade to CC

[pjv]

Assuming that you (the OP) have only played BBb, the chances that you'll be fully capable of choosing an appropriate CC for your future studies is not entirely guaranteed.

I'd say;
-If possible borrow a CC, even if it's for a short period of time. Get yourself acquainted with the beast.
-Shop around. Play as many horns as you can get your hands on. Read up on them. Find out what instruments are generally better in tune, which models work really well all around. Sure, it's all hearsay and blah blah, but it's better to prepare yourself.
-And if you can do it, wait. A well trained tuba player (your future teacher) will have more facilities to choose an appropriate tuba for your studies. He might even have some leads on a good horn being sold.

You're getting some good advice here on the board, but also some mini-flames. The minute you said "upgrade to CC" you opened a can of worms because your supposition is not entirely correct. Upgrading your tuba has nothing to do with what key it's in. Many trumpet players play C trumpet for certain circumstances and Bb for others (as well as D, Eb, etc). It's the same with tubas. Bloke's bassoon analogy hit the bullseye.
Furthermore, a Miraphone 186 in BBb (or CC) is a high quality tuba so it made it easy for some people to take pot shots. We all, of coarse, have no idea in what condition your tuba is in, and as was mentioned earlier, an upgrade is individual.
Having said that, there are many tubas out there which will most probably (though not necessarily) suit your purposes better than 186. The CC tuba is still the standard bread and butter tuba in the US orchestra world (just like BBb is in Germany). Your assumption that purchasing a CC tuba will be to your advantage is not entirely unfounded. Again, if you can wait to buy a tuba until after you're in college/university/conservatorium, it might not be a bad idea.
Good luck. Pat

[tofu]

[Money...]

Again, nothing personal, I just think people get really bent out of shape about this stuff.

Gosh nothing personal, but who is the one bent out of shape? You sure do read a lot into things. The OP asked if he should upgrade to CC. He asked for opinions. Many folks had expressed what you would usually expect to hear. I just thought it would be useful for a 15 year old to at least consider a longer term perspective of the money aspect of a large outlay of cash at his age. I make seven figures and I think it's a large expenditure as would most of the folks in my circle. Just because you have a lot of funds doesn't mean you don't carefully evaluate the worthiness of a transaction. Most 15 years old I know live for the now and not the way the heck in the future. Long term perspective is sometimes hard to come by at an early age. Obviously the OP has some as he asked the question of the worthiness of making the change. What he does is entirely up to him and has no effect on the rest of us. It truly is his business and what he does will affect him both now and down the road of life.

[bort]

Don't be a 75 year old bagging groceries at the local supermarket and living on cat food.

I think it was this quote that made me think the idea of saving $5,000 had been sensationalized a bit too much, even if (I hope) to make a hilarious point. It's sort of like those DirecTV commercials where the ridiculous chain of events happens, and it was "caused" by one small and unrelated thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mojsXDN_U" target="_blank

[Heavy_Metal]

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/06/gr ... vs-picard/" target="_blank