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A friend of mine plays one of the Conn 5XJ models (he's played several over the years, I'm not sure which one he has at present) that has the .687 bore and either the 18, 19 or 20 inch bell. He does just fine for the regional mid-sized professional orchestra he plays with. He even occasionally gets "the hand."

Right now, being your freshman year, you should consult your tuba professor, use a school instrument, practice your *** off and see if you want to continue as a tuba major next year.

Buy a 4/4 now or a smaller 5/4. BATs are fun, but if you can only have one tuba for college, don't make that it...

Well, it's not so much the size of the tuba that makes it loud (a 3/4 Miraphone 184 at FF would "peel more paint" than a BAT...) Just that a 4/4 tuba will be more versatile. And being a college kid, you'll want something you can use everywhere.

einaphets, don't get stuck in the "arms race." IMHO, I agree with iiipopes:

iiipopes wrote:A friend of mine plays one of the Conn 5XJ models (he's played several over the years, I'm not sure which one he has at present) that has the .687 bore and either the 18, 19 or 20 inch bell. He does just fine for the regional mid-sized professional orchestra he plays with. He even occasionally gets "the hand."

Right now, being your freshman year, you should consult your tuba professor, use a school instrument, practice your *** off and see if you want to continue as a tuba major next year.

I don't want to burst your bubble here, but most people will not wind up plaing with the NYPO or CSO. A 4/4 tuba will be perfect for most regional mid-sized orchestras, and will give you the versatility to play in most situations. iiipopes second paragraph really sums up some great advice.

It's tempting to want the same grand orchestral tuba that the big dogs play in the first-tier orchestras.

But there are a few truths that are good to know:

1. They didn't obtain their big tubas until they already had the gig (at least their first pro-orchestra gig), with very few exceptions.

2. They don't use their big tubas for other kinds of gigs, like quintets and so on, again with few exceptions. The big tuba is a specialty instrument.

3. They didn't establish their orchestral specialty until they were already superb general performers and musicians.

A big tuba is not something you grow into. It's something you obtain as a specific tool to address a specific set of requirements. Wait until you have the requirements before spending that big wad of money.

Lots of guys can make earth-moving whole notes on big tubas. To separate yourself from them, you have to be supremely musical and technically flawless playing melodies, solo works, and high stuff. Being able to play all that stuff at a world-class level is the entry price for being paid to play earth-moving whole notes, it seems to me.

Also, I don't see many professionals who are still playing the instruments they bought in college, even though who were lucky enough to buy ultra-high-end instruments. That suggests to me that college students, even the best of the best, don't yet know what they will need when they earn gigs. Use a school instrument if you can, or buy a used 4/4 tuba of good quality, after consulting your teacher. That instrument will be useful trade fodder when you have grown as a musician and performer to the point where you won't need to ask a bunch of middle-aged fat guys on the Internet. You'll be able to trade it for what you really need. The instrument is important--maybe 5% as important as the guy sitting behind it.

Rick "who owns fine instruments but still sucks" Denney

As one who was blessed enough to have bought a 6/4 horn (Yorkbrunner) in college, I will also encourage you to consider a 4/4 or 5/4 -- a more all-around instrument. At the time (1994) that I purchased my Yorkbrunner, huge horns were all the rage. I was set on becoming the next Gene Pokorny, and absolutly nothing was going to get in my way.

Tommy Johnson and I spent a Sunday at his house testing horns, between the Yorkbrunner (that Custom Music was so kind to send me as a trial), his Neptune, my Miraphone 185, and Tommy's Miraphone 188. After a while Tommy agreed that I sounded the best on my 185, but had the potential to sound GREAT on the Yorkbrunner.

It was HUGE, shiny, felt great in my hands. I knew everyone at UCLA and in the Southern Califonia tuba community would covet it, so I ordered one the next day. Thank$ Mom!

I really love my Yorkbrunner, and have tried a few 6/4 horns since and no others come close. It has a velvet sound that cannot be touched by the smaller tubas out there. For that I'm thankful. But I never did become that big orchestral tubist...

So, now that my career is in filmaking and scoring music, my Yorkbrunner spends almost all of its time in the case. I recently purchased a 291 Bruckner CC, because in the limited time I get to play out, I wanted a more all around horn (but wanted the response of a rotary valved horn). Notice that I did go with a larger instrument than my old 185 (I love the Bruckner), because I still need a sense of that organ-like sound I get on the Yorkbrunner.

Until you have an orchestra director TELL YOU that he/she wants you to sound like Gene, Norm, Alan, etc...

Go with the horn that you can play best!