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Hey,i played BB tuba for 2 years and now i want to change it with CC.This summer i kicked my *** of washing dishes in a restaurant so i can earn some money to buy one.I have few (i guess good ones) on my mind,but i really can't make my mind couse i won't be able to try them.My vision of the sound i would like to achieve should look like this:big massive low octave,crystal clear middle octave and bell canto high tones.Also i want good intonation and not so wild fortissimo:)).I know that the instrument doesn't play very big part in your sound as the player do,but still i think that small part is very important.These are the instruments i have on my mind(with budget not higher than 10000$) :
-Meinl Weston 2165 Warren Deck model(found used one for 8700$).what i like about this instrument is his huge-nes and the fact that is made for the great New York Phil. Tubist.
-Kanstul 90 for 8900$.I heard sooo much talking about this tuba,comparing it with the legendary York and Sons.And wright now it has the biggest chances among all the tubas i doubt about becouse it's new.
-Miraphone 1291-1292.These instruments are also one of the favourites.Their prices are from 8500-9600$.
-Besson BE 995 Soveregin.The price of a used one is 9981$.I've heard a lots of good things about this tuba.


So these are the instruments i 'm in doubt about.I am looking for a professional advise.Of coures,if you have some other suggestions about another CC tuba,you are welcome.Thanks to everyone in advance and i appriciate your help.At the second week of October i will tell everyone what have i decided.

FH Lamberts have (I think they still do) a Besson for well under your budget. You'll find it on UK eBay.

Even with shipping and import duty, it'll be well under your budget.

I own a 1292. Great Low register and very even sound throughout the horn. Very responsive, great intonation, very versatile. I've used it in everything from quintet to large symphony orchestra and it works great in all. I suggest Try to play on a few before you buy. I got my 1292 out of a batch of 4, 2 of which were not too good. Anway good luck! Hope this helps!

MacedoniaTuba wrote: -Meinl Weston 2165 Warren Deck model(found used one for 8700$).what i like about this instrument is his huge-nes and the fact that is made for the great New York Phil. Tubist.

-Kanstul 90 for 8900$.I heard sooo much talking about this tuba,comparing it with the legendary York and Sons.And wright now it has the biggest chances among all the tubas i doubt about becouse it's new.

-Miraphone 1291-1292.These instruments are also one of the favourites.Their prices are from 8500-9600$.

-Besson BE 995 Soveregin.The price of a used one is 9981$.I've heard a lots of good things about this tuba.

Just a personal opinion, take it with a grain of salt:
Meinl Weston 2165: "the York was described by Jacobs as making the most of what the player had to offer, while the 2165 was designed to make the most of what Warren Deck had to offer". Unmodified, these can be hard to play, and the "hugeness" can be a pain when dealing with smaller groups.

Kanstul 90: FUN horn to play. Decent (not fantastic) tuning and a free blowing basement register for its size. Eventually, I didn't like the monotonous "York" sound that it produced (seemed to hard to change from "buttery" to "aggressive"), the projection seemed a bit low, and it was VERY awkward to hold. It is NOT in the same size class as the 1292, Besson, other 4/4+, but DEFINITELY a fun tuba. Sam Gnagey's tubas seem very similar though, and show up for ~$5000 on the used market...

1291/2/3: Sorry to anybody that owns these, but IMHO, the Thor is a better tuba in every aspect. The 1291's I've played had a few tuning quirks with an awesome (but not better than the Thor) low register. 1292 had good tuning/low register, 1293 was the best of the 3, but IMHO, the Thor was just a better tuba.

Besson 995: Only played a couple of the older English built ones, but didn't like them. The tuning was GREAT on the first example I played but seemed a bit inefficient for the amount of air v. projection and the response was bleh. Played no better than the Jupiter CC for me.

If I had <$10000 to spend, I'd bide my time for either a used Thor, or go for both a CC and F/Eb.

TheHatTuba wrote: If I had <$10000 to spend, I'd bide my time for either a used Thor, or go for both a CC and F/Eb.

Me too. For under $10,000 it's not tough to find a used Miraphone 188 AND a decent used F.

Uncle Buck wrote:Me too. For under $10,000 it's not tough to find a used Miraphone 188 AND a decent used F.

Sounds like a great idea to me!

To the OP, out of the tubas you've mentioned, the only one I've owned was a 1291 (with a 1292 leadpipe). Excellent tuba and a ton of fun to play. I regret selling it a little bit, but lucky for me (and you), Miraphone made more than 1.

Biggest drawback about the 1291 for me is that it's pretty much a point-and-shoot tuba, and it lacks a bit of the "color" in the sound that you have to work for a bit in other tubas. Mouthpiece choice helps that a lot though.

Why do you "want" a C tuba? There is nothing wrong with Bb tubas, ask the dudes in the German orchestras. Ask Pokorny and Rosse (notable C users) why they are using Bb tubas more and more these days.

Compare all the horns you want, whatever pitch, on paper. Get all the opinions you want. This will help narrow down your choice of tubas to decide upon. Test them if you can.

Bottom line, what ever horn you finally pick, it's up to you to feed it what it needs to make the sound you want. Make, model, cost and opinion are all irrelevant once you hand over your hard earned cash.

JohnSzkutko wrote:Why do you "want" a C tuba? There is nothing wrong with Bb tubas, ask the dudes in the German orchestras. Ask Pokorny and Rosse (notable C users) why they are using Bb tubas more and more these days.

Compare all the horns you want, whatever pitch, on paper. Get all the opinions you want. This will help narrow down your choice of tubas to decide upon. Test them if you can.

Bottom line, what ever horn you finally pick, it's up to you to feed it what it needs to make the sound you want. Make, model, cost and opinion are all irrelevant once you hand over your hard earned cash.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I totally agree

firs of all i want to thanks to everyone about their advices.I REALLY APPRICIATE IT!!And if i ever meet someone of you,i'll buy you a beer,two,eleven:)))
And about my wish to transfer on CC is just becouse i like more the sound of it and the comfort i have when i play CC(i tried Kalison CC,i dont know what model it was,but i felt it more comfortable playing and i got the sound i wanted).

Also one more thinG i would like to add in the discription.The iNstrument i am going to buy,i am planning to play it for a looong time(where i live,it's hard to earn money for tuba):))).
thank you again for all the advices ))

MacedoniaTuba wrote:The iNstrument i am going to buy,i am planning to play it for a looong time(where i live,it's hard to earn money for tuba):))).
thank you again for all the advices ))

It's hard to scare up $10K for a horn just about anywhere nowadays...

DDG

hey guys first of all thank you again for all of your opinions.It really helped me.As i said,i will anounce the model i've bought.And the lucky winner iiiiis.....MEINL WESTON TUONOOOO:))))
yup,i am very happy to have this horn,even thou i was in a search of piston tuba,like Thor.It have a great sound,good intonaton,it's a huge-monster-tuba.I am having some troubles learning the fingering,but i guess it always takes time to start feel the instrument.Well,worky days are just about to come,i guess.Once again,thank you folks and hope that everyone will get the tuba he likes.

You are to be commended for saving your bucks to buy a tuba.

MacedoniaTuba wrote:firs of all i want to thanks to everyone about their advices.I REALLY APPRICIATE IT!!And if i ever meet someone of you,i'll buy you a beer,two,eleven:)))
And about my wish to transfer on CC is just becouse i like more the sound of it and the comfort i have when i play CC(i tried Kalison CC,i dont know what model it was,but i felt it more comfortable playing and i got the sound i wanted).

Also one more thinG i would like to add in the discription.The iNstrument i am going to buy,i am planning to play it for a looong time(where i live,it's hard to earn money for tuba)

Congratulations
Where do You live?

EDIT: Paid attention to your username, so I know now. Again, congratulations: those are fun tubas.

Post some pictures! We love pictures here on TubeNet!

Well, thank you.It was worth of it couse that's an investment in yourself.And i feel great wright now playing my new Tuono.I guess i did the wright thing:))

Most likely, it was the right thing. You'll only know in a year or so. After all wasn't the original subject of the post "Transferring" from BB to CC tuba? Everything so far has been about buying a CC tuba (whether or not to buy, which kind to buy).

Now that you've done it, just a simple note on actually "Transferring" to the CC. First thing is to never look back . Don't play any more B-flat (ok, after a year or so, maybe). Assuming you have some etude books (hopefully, at least Blazevich and Rochut, maybe Gallay and Kopprasch), pick one and go back to etude number 1. Go as slow as you must to get the pitches (i.e. fingerings) correct. Do the same for every etude until you've gone as far in the book as you've ever gone (with the Gallay, it should be the whole book no matter what), always making sure you're playing the correct fingerings, so keep it slow! When you've reached the last etude, go back to #1 and start all over again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
At some point you should start picking out some nice, lyrical literature to play as a soloist, and of course set your sights on that one major pain-in-the-touchas solo that you want to play.

Eventually your B-flat fingerings will be located further back in your brain (they never realy leave) and you'll be happy as a clam with your new axe!