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Hey ya'll

Im curious if anyone has had any experience with these instruments.

The schiller f tuba is the stuffiest instrument I've ever played on and it collects water like crazy. The lack of a fifth valve is also a bit of a bummer. All of that said, it's way better than not practicing if you're traveling or live in a small apartment. I think Wessex has a 5 valve version that has other playability improvements but I haven't played on one.

I have one of the Bubbie 5 Wessex mini tubas. I play it in Eb but F is an easy transition. I had a Bubbie version 1 which is almost exactly like the Shiller horn. The Bubbie 5 is a significant improvement. It does have 5 valves in F. The tone is much better and it is easier blowing. The version 1 has a lot of back pressure. The 5 version is a lot better but not like a full size horn. It still has issues with water accumulation, but better than the 1 version. My french horn friends have similar issues. I'm very satisfied with mine. None of the mini horns have big projection so they are a practice horn or a very small group or need amplification. The tone takes some practice to get clear. It is less forgiving than most larger horns. I believe working on the bubbie 5 helped my tone on my larger horn. I've had one for several years and so far has held up very well (aka no maintenance issues). The valves need oiling more often than my larger rotor horn.

Is the Bubbie now available the same as the one you have, or has it been further improved? How is intonation in Eb? I'm not a slide puller and try to get tubas that can be lipped.

The Bubbie 5, which I have, is the one currently available. The Eb intonation is good. I tend to lip too. I'm not fond of pulling valves. I've not really played mine in F. I had a Bubbie 1 or original version which I played in F (second french horn parts as a fill in). It was fine. The Bubbie 5 is a significant improvement over the original version.