Arnie Jacobsen? You mean, Arnold Jacobs?Giovanni wrote:If you want the best, get a Hirsbrunner, or shall I say Yorkbrunner HBS 500. It's got four piston valves and one big rotary valve. It's a 6/4 CC modeled after Arnie Jacobsen's York tuba. Go to <www.hirsbrunner.com> Custom Music Company in Michigan sells them exclusively. Drawback? Price, somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000 but you will get lots of smiles per mile. Another tuba-try a Yamaha. I don't know the actual prices but their BAT is a decent instrument for the money. The Meinl-Weston BAT is a cool tuba. Good luck and happy hunting
And Yamaha's BAT? Yamaha doesn't have a BAT in production. Their prototype BAT is not available, and reported to be more expensive as a prototype than the Hirsbrunner.
The Meinl-Weston 6/4 is the 2165, and before trying that I would try a Gronitz PCK, about which the best players are saying wonderful things. It's in the same price range as the 2165 at less than $10K. It's also a little smaller and possibly more versatile.
None of these would be my first CC tuba if I was intending a career as a tubist. I'd rather choose a popular 4/4 tuba (popular so it will hold its price). It's mighty hard to keep a 6/4 tuba from overpowering, say, a brass quintet. There was an Alexander 163 down the list for a very reasonable price, but I'd bet it's already been snatched up.
Rick "wondering how Mr. Jacobs would have responded to 'Arnie'" Denney