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What is a good 3/4 CC tuba? if there are any.

Prefer pistons and I'm sure most only have 4valves and thats fine.

It'd be fune to have a little CC hangin around. Plus, I have some extra money available due to a "bonus" so I wanted to treat myself.

I love my Yammy 621 CC. It's a fun horn to play and extremely light and easy to stroll with. I've used it for that and quintet. It has a nice easy blowing low register, but tends to get blatty if too much air is moved through it. That might be true of any 3/4 CC tuba. The intonation is also excellent. I know many on this board prefer the Miraphone 184 CC, but I still prefer the Yammy.

My dilemma, at this point, is that my other horn is a 52J with the same .689(?) bore as the Yammy. The horns are too similar, so I'm thinking one should be replaced, but I'm not sure which as I like both horns. The Yammy could be replaced with an F, but I don't know how my improv chops would work on another key horn. Or, the 52J could go for a larger CC. Can't keep both and add a third horn, unless someone gives me one for a retirement gift and that didn't seem to happen. Anyway, I digress, which you get really good at when you get to a certain point in life. Feel free to chime in here anyone!

I recommend the 621 for a 3/4 CC. The Miraphone is also a good horn. I never played the Rudy 3/4 CC, but that's supposed to be a fine horn as well. I don't believe there are many choices in 3/4 CC tubas.

yes, i figured there wern't very many choices. And I've heard a bit about the yamaha...havn't played one.

I have a bigger CC horn and I'm nuying an F horn, but I'd like a 3/4 CC for quintet and stuff, cause I don't wanna use the F cause it's a smaller solo F and I don't want to ise the big horn for small ensemble cause its too big. (and I'm not sure I want to part with it yet)

Thanks for the suggestions.

I see the Cerveny, Piggy on the list of 3/4 tubas. I do not consider the Piggy a 3/4 tuba. If my memory serves me correctly, its valve bore is around .810" which is quite large. It the size of the large Alexander CC tuba.

the Cerveny Piggy does have a large bore, but it's a very easy playing horn and definitely falls in the 3/4 category. Mine was a 3/4 with major gusto, and kept up fine even in orchestral situations. The 3/4 Rudy is really a 4/4, and sounds bigger than even the new 186. GREAT horn, but not a 3/4.

My other suggestion would be a Weril, as I've heard they're good horns and inexpensive.

http://www.bassclefbrass.com/index.php?a=2&b=347

David Graves' 185 would be nice.

Although not really 3/4, a MW 2145 would complement your big CC nicely. I played one at Brasswind last week and it has a very nice sound. I'd call it a "modest 4/4", with a nice, direct, compact sound. Not small, but more focused than a big horn. I think it would be very nice for quintet.

My fear is that a 184/5 may be a bit too small for quintet. Likewise my concern for 621CC. If that's what you discover, then where would you possibly use it? (since you will soon have a bass tuba). If you have a 5/4 CC and a decent F, then don't go too small with your "small" CC, lest you never find a setting where you can use it.

That's MY present thinking, unless a wiser TubeNetter can broaden my perspective!

Cheers,

Brooke,
You could just consider a mouthpiece change on your 1290 to use in a quintet settting. I used the Yamaha Self as a quintet piece; a Bobo Solo might work as well if you want an even tigher sound.
When Lee Stofer rebuilt the horn, he tried a wide range of mouthpieces on it and was able to achieve a broad tonal pallette.

pierso20 wrote:What is a good 3/4 CC tuba? if there are any.

Prefer pistons and I'm sure most only have 4valves and thats fine.

It'd be fune to have a little CC hangin around. Plus, I have some extra money available due to a "bonus" so I wanted to treat myself.

I you have a smaller F, and a large (5/4-6/4) CC, and you wanted a third horn...

You should find something exactly in between what you already have. That would be a 4/4 CC. This should be a horn that you like playing in quintet... and that would be good for those orchestral pieces where you don't want to bring in your big horn.

If you get a 3/4 CC, you may find it overlaps your F.

true. All good advice. Everything still all depends. I've never played a CC that small so I'm not sure what its like. I was also thinking a 3/4 CC may be a bit less costly then another 4/4 horn. I kinda just want something for the hell of it, so we shall see.

just to add a sugguestion, (since you might not find this horn any time) I really liked the Getzen G-50 and would liken it to a smaller 4/4 and if i'm not mistaken (wouldn't be suprised if i was) Charles Dallenbach used one in the Canadian Brass.

As well as concert band, if necessary.

Brooke,

My Kanstul 3/4 CC is for sale. PM me if you want details.

pierso20 wrote:true. All good advice. Everything still all depends. I've never played a CC that small so I'm not sure what its like. I was also thinking a 3/4 CC may be a bit less costly then another 4/4 horn. I kinda just want something for the hell of it, so we shall see.

Weril makes a small/medium 4 front valve CC, J681.

Bob1062 wrote:Steve, have you considered going to a 2145 instead of your 5xJ/381 combo?

Until recently, I never gave the 2145 any attention at all -- as I viewed it as producing too focused of a sound for any of the larger groups I play in. This past week, I tried one again, and it occurred to me how nice it would be for a quintet horn, as my quintet wants a fairly strong bass voice (2145 can do this) but I want a more focused voice (2145 can do this). I've actually been using the 56J in my quintet for the past 9 months or so. But I'd hate to give up the 15" bell Eb, as it is a nice choice when covering a euph or 2nd 'bone part when it's the bass voice in a quartet / quintet.

If I bought a 2145, it would be to replace the small(er) Eb I've got, or in addition to it (I really like the 381), because it doesn't have as big of a sound as what I'd want for larger groups. But with a 2145, the 56J wouldn't have any significant benefits in any category except the broader sound (which I like with the smaller church orchestras and community concert band I play in), as both are 4/4-ish in size. So, I'd ALSO have to get something even bigger on the big end! (I did not try the 2145 with a PT-88, however, to see how much bigger it might sound. Hmmm ....)

Since I don't have much use for something as big as the 5.75/4 MW Baer (er ... "since I don't have much spare $$$ for the .....) , I suppose my "ideal" 3 -tuba set-up would be a PT-6, a 2145, and a smaller F -- like a Firebird -- if I were dreaming and won the lottery. A more realistic combination would probably be a 1292 CC for all of my contrabass tuba needs, and a Firebird F or a Norwegian Star Eb (or the old 381 Eb, for that matter).

Thanks for the suggestion -- it's always fun to ponder a bit.

I would like to add that a 3/4 CC is really not much cheaper than a 4/4 CC. You'd assume that because a 3/4 is smaller and uses less material, that it would be cheaper... that is not necessarily the case. In fact, because not very many 3/4 CCs are sold... many may be more expensive than a comparable 4/4. The Yamaha 621 is quite expensive, new.

Perhaps you'd be interested in a MW2145, Conn 5xJ, or how about a PT-20p? Look for something used. I predict you'll end up using your 4/4 CC at least 50% of the time (and your F, big CC less than 25% each).

Maybe keep your Miraphone... how do you like that horn in quintet?

I sorta realized that (price issues) after I made this thread. I had spent time reading posts in the "prices going up" thread...and had come to some conculsions anyway.

The miraphone is ok in small group. I feel it is quite overpowering though. It is a good horn for my large ensembles.

Overall, after reading some of these comments, i feel that the best thing to do is have something "different" than the big CC and an F horn...and that a 4/4 CC or a large Eb may be what i am looking for.

None of this is a high concern or priority to me because practicing and practicing and doing what I can with what I have is my top concern. But everyone like's to have new toys every once in a while.

I also play a 1290 and use a conn 3J CC for my smaller horn. The intonation on the conn is much more stable and so I use it for recording in small group situations but I like the 1290 better for small group work if it is live and especially if it is outdoors.
Good luck, Phil