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Hello,
What is the smallest professional C tuba available?
I own an early Yamaha 621 CC, four valve. That is indeed a small tuba. I have used it as a reasonable substitute for the performance of cimbasso parts.
The old Mirafone 184 CC is also very small, but standing a little taller the the Yamaha 621.
Years ago at the T.U.B.A. Conference in Austin, was the smallest C tuba I have ever played. Everyone was lining up to laugh at it. It is in my photo album of "Aberrations of the Brass Makers Art". I believe that it had been built for the Chicago Lyric Opera and was built from parts (Mirafone valve set, teeny Conn(?) euphonium bell etc.) with the tubing wrapped up tight as a drum. It actually played fine.
Kathott.

kathott wrote:...
Years ago at the T.U.B.A. Conference in Austin, was the smallest C tuba I have ever played. Everyone was lining up to laugh at it. It is in my photo album of "Aberrations of the Brass Makers Art". I believe that it had been built for the Chicago Lyric Opera and was built from parts (Mirafone valve set, teeny Conn(?) euphonium bell etc.) with the tubing wrapped up tight as a drum. It actually played fine.

Do you have a picture of that instrument that you can post?

kathott wrote:Years ago at the T.U.B.A. Conference in Austin, was the smallest C tuba I have ever played. Everyone was lining up to laugh at it.

I remember that instrument. I'm trying to remember who had built the prototype, but I'm sure it wasn't Miraphone (they were on the other side of the room).

It was the size of a smallish rotary euphonium but had full-bore rotary valves and seemingly about two dozen bows.

It played, but I'm not sure it played all that well.

Rick "one of those in line to laugh at it" Denney

Here's a link to a thread discussing the Cerveny 'Piglet"; a variation of the Piggy that is only 32" tall.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=30013&hilit=Piglet#p262371" target="_blank

I remember that little thing in Austin also. I think it was someone from WWBW that had it. I remember someone absolutely BLASTING "The Ride" on it, about the only time I heard that excerpt in the elephant room.

I think it was a Conn bell front, wasn't it? A Mirafone valveset, too.

Maybe Charlie remembers something about it. The Chicago connection sounds familiar, too.

The Big Ben wrote:Here's a link to a thread discussing the Cerveny 'Piglet"; a variation of the Piggy that is only 32" tall.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=30013&hilit=Piglet#p262371" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

I own the tuba in that first pic (Thanks Matt!) and it
stands 34" tall with a 15.75" bell.
Quite a good player.

Could always grab a tornister in CC

J.c.S.

J.c. Sherman wrote:Could always grab a tornister in CC

Might be easier to make than a BBb- less metal!

the link to Cerveny tubas in the old thread is obsolete, so here is the current link: http://www.cerveny.biz/tuben/