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Hi all,
I attended the Midwest Clinic last month and tried out... well, more or less every tuba I could get my hands on. By the end of the day, I had determined that I played best on the B&S PT-6 and the Hirsbrunner HB-2 (rotary models of both).
I'm looking at buying one or the other in about a year after I've had time to sock away some cash for it, but honestly I can't decide between the two. I've heard great things about both horns, but almost no criticism. So, that being said, I was hoping for recommendations one way or the other. Does one hold up better over time? Intonation issues? Do either of them tend to melt or explode violently when played?
For the record, the horn will be used in orchestral work as well as small ensembles till I graduate, and mostly small ensembles and such afterward, so if one is better suited to these needs or is more well-rounded in general, let me know.
Thanks!

I have played next to both the HB-2 and PT-6 extensively over the last couple of years with two accomplished players. Both are nice horns with great sounds, but I really love the way the PT-6 supports but doesn't take over the trombone section. It is an absolute joy to be in an ensemble with that horn on bottom. I am able to bring my bass trombone sound into a chord anchored by the PT-6 and it just locks. One of the guys also brings a Miraphone 1291 occaisionally but it is my least favorite of the 3. The PT-6 really fits.

I've played a bunch of PT6's and have owned an HB2...

The (5/4) PT6 is a very 'user friendly' tuba, and has an exceptional high range for a large horn. Both the mid and low registers are nice, intonation is very good, and the sound is quite colorful. The rotary valves are nice and quiet too.

The (4/4) HB2 is a very solid 'normal sized' CC. The low register is one of the most open of any horn I've ever played, and the intonation is pretty good. The one drawback (why I sold mine) is that a couple notes around low AA may or may not be a bit hard to center (kind of like the low C on a rotary F tuba). I had mine for about a year and thought it complimented my 983 Eb 'almost' perfectly, but I couldn't get used (or didn't want) to working around those couple of notes. These couple of notes seem to be a characteristic of most 4/4 Hirsbrunner CC's, and if you can work around it, or if they aren't much of an issue on yours, you have a great horn. The HB2 also has one of THE darkest sounds you can find, the only other 'big horn' sound that I liked more was the 'old' Alexander sound (dool)... If you get an older one, the valves can be a bit noisy too.

I can remember back when the new HB2's were ~14K new and the PT6's were ~9K new; not anymore... That might have been part of the 'arms race' that helped the PT6/PT6P become the new 'standard' BAT for a reasonable price.

So, do you want a good 'user friendly' 5/4, or a solid 4/4 that you may have to work out a quirk or two?

Of course, you could try to fuse the PT6 size with the HB2 sound and get an HB6 like this:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25663&hilit=hirsbrunner" target="_blank" target="_blank

Sadly, this one is already sold, but it may give you another option if you can find another one...

Thanks a lot for the input. I appreciate it.