Looking for first F tuba

[thetubawizard]

So I need some advice. I'm looking at going to grad school for performance after I finish my music ed. degree and my teacher wants me to start learning F tuba. Problem is, the university doesn't have an F tuba and I need to buy one on a college student budget. I've been looking around and I think my best option is to go with an MM tuba. I'm worried though because I can't find anyone who has played on one and has shared an opinion on how they play... Has anyone played on one of the MM F tubas? Is there another cheap horn you would recommend?

I'm not trying to be picky. I just want a cheap, 5 valve F that plays okay and has good tuning. I don't plan on using this forever, just to learn how to play it and get me by for a few years.

Thanks!
Nick

[ppalan]

There have been a number of criticisms of M&M on this board. You should search for and read them. Although not 5-valve, Wessex has an F tuba that Jonathon claims is much improved over the previously offered version. That iteration of an F was pretty much universally "panned". One board member, Bubbabassboner, has offered an evaluation based on his having played one. Here is a quote from the relevant section:

A few weeks back I was able to play test a number of Wessex tubas. Two of these horns were the new F tuba and the solo Eb. I'm going to be as straight forward as I can be with my opinion of these horns, giving both the good and the bad.

Wessex F tuba:

The good,
The old version of this horn had some pretty nasty intonation problems. The biggest being the F in the staff. This note (the tuning note) needed to be played 23. Well on the new version the F is nice and in tune. I found the horn to speak well and to have a solid low range. Didn't seem to have the "low c" problem that a lot of horns have. I had a fairly easy time playing through all the normal F tuba licks on it and found it to have a nice focused sound. The horn reminds me more of a miraphone horn than a B&S horn.

The Bad,
The C in the staff can ride pretty high. The note is very bendable but it did remind me of some older miraphone 181s in that regard. Can you learn to play it in tune without slide pulls? I think it could, but you will need to learn it. The horn had some build issues that I hope get fixed. The linkage was not assembled very well. Parts that were soldered on were not parallel at all. Now don't get me wrong, the linkage worked just fine but it is not up to the level of the German horns. The other big problem were the valves. The valves worked fine but when I took the caps off I found that neither the valve or bearing plate had alignment marks on them. So for the techs taking these apart be aware that you will need to add your own marks and number all the parts.

Overall,
It's not a bad horn. For those who need an F tuba but can not drop $5000-$10000 for a horn should look at this. Is it perfect? Nope. Will be be the easiest horn to play ever? Nope. I won't be selling my B&S symphonie to get one but I also paid over three times the amount for mine than the Wessex would cost.
..............

Whatever your choice, you should make every effort try it yourself before making a final decision.
just my $.02
Pete

[swillafew]

I own a nice F tuba, and have played a horn like yours. They are not as different as you might think. Stick with your PT-20p, those are great horns, and should be wonderful for the literature that people use an F to pursue.

If you think your cash is tight now, wait a couple of years.