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Here I was wondering if you could list or tell about "Your Drug of Choice", meaning piston or rotary. Why? Why not?

TOTALLY depends on the SOUND of the tuba....

or

Trapped?

is there a back story?
Is he/she not a High School Student?

I was trying to be funny. Yes, I am a senior in high school. I just wanted to know piston or rotary valves then get some information on why they liked the type.

Take a look at samples of the two systems. Which system does generally distort the passage geometry the least? There are good samples within each system, as there are bad samples within each system, yet it is possible to see a main tendency.

Klaus

I personally don't play as cleanly on piston horns as I do on rotary, but it is a personal preference and a priority preference.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=43241&hilit=Piston+rotor" target="_blank" target="_blank

That will probably tell you everything you want to know. Go play on as many horns as possible, and see what works for you.

I have a suspicion that for at least 80% of tuba players, the valve mechanism is an insignificant issue. As long as the valves are in good shape, they are not what holds most of us back.

My common response to this.... what is the meaning of life?

I play both piston Eb rotor Bb. As stated previously most people are concerned more with the whole of the horn rather than the mechanics.

Up until this year I had only played top action piston tubas and a 3 valve front action Sousa.
I now have two front action rotary tubas with 4 valves.
I was impressed by rotary valves as my first one was a 40 year old Bb that with no work still had a decent valve action.
My only complaint is that after 30 years of playing my right hand pinky finger is not yet independent enough for me to play the rotarys as well as I do the top action.
So if you are currently playing 3 valve front or top action start working your pinky finger