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Last night I was playing my monthly gig with the Singing Men of East Texas. There was a tuba sitting in the loft. It was not in a case or gig bag. I could only see the the silver bow of the instrument from my vantage point. I figured I was looking at the bow of a beat up St. Pete or something similar. Curiosity got the best of me & I walked up to check it out. To my astonishment, it was a Walter Nirshl 4 valve CC (Elkhart). With the pastor's blessing, I took the instrument to a conference room while my group was having their 30 minute prayer time. Holy cow! That thing was awesome! It was definitely the the best part of my day. I have several questions.

Is this based on the Chicago Symphony York CC?

Are these still in production?

Who sells them?

What is the price?

I'm not sure about the "Elkhart" on the bell, but maybe that's standard?

If it was a gigantic tuba, then yes, it's a copy of the CSO York. It's a handmade tuba, and they are very highly regarded. I'm not sure if they even make them anymore, but if so, it's a special order for sure. They are rare.

Baltimore Brass has a lightly used one right now for $21,500.

Who owns the tuba? To leave an instrument like this unprotected in a loft is beyond me... I would have that thing in a flight case all the time, in my house, and fully insured.

Glad you got to play it, those are great tubas!

I don't believe it had a 5th rotor, but looked very much like that photo. Walter Nirshl and Elkhart were definitely stamped on bell. It may very we'll be a BMB manufactured in Brazil and assembled in Indiana. If so, can somebody supply a link to information on the instrument and list price?

Herr Walter Nirschle tuba built in Brazil based on the Bohm & Meinl-built Nirschle tubas.