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Hi-
I ordered a new Andreas Eastman 4/4 EBC-632 CC Tuba from Dillon Music and it arrived today. The horn is 4 piston, 1 rotor, .687 bore with a large -.770 -5th rotor, 20" bell. I ordered one in lacquer. If there was ever a perfect in tune tuba made, this is about as close as one would be!! Wow--every note on a tuner is dead center. Amazing. And don't let the .687 bore make you think it plays small. This horn sings up high, and especially down low. I've played many a 6/4 tuba that had no low register like this horn. Matt Walters, who designed this for Eastman, is a genius. I still kick myself for not buying his hand made Dillon DCB-1185 6/4 CC Tuba at NERTEC in Ithaca 2 years ago ( Side Note: if anyone has one of the 6/4 1185 tubas and would like to sell it, please contact me!). I can't believe how easy this 4/4 tuba is to play. The Pistons are like glass. And--FINALLY- a Chinese maker has made top cap piston threads that work easily--no more messing with screwing on a cap!!! This instrument is really well made--as good as any GERMAN horn I've ever owned. All slides right in alignment, everything fits correctly, very nice finish-- IMHO, the best all around CC tuba-period. Bravo Matt and Bravo Eastman!! The horn is so smooth in its sound--like butter. This is no Getzen G50 or Conn 5xJ CC clone--this is a world class 4/4 tuba made to the highest standard! This horn would be a solid buy at $10,000. Eastman making this tuba, along with their own trombones and their investment in Shires Instruments, now has first class brass under their belt. Go to your Local EASTMAN dealer or try this horn out at a regional conference--you will be amazed at this tuba. Oh--and Eastman instruments come with a limited 5 YEAR WARRANTY--WOW! A big 2 thumbs up.
Pics below.
Regards-
Mark

PS--side bar--I hope the Andreas EASTMAN Company realizes the gift they received from Matt Walters in his pro bono design of this prototype for them. Hopefully, they do because they faithfully reproduced the prototype into a first class production 4/4 CC tuba. This horn just blows my mind--go play it!

Congrats!

So -- not being a Conn 5xJ clone, I probably know the answer, but does the valve section stick out ridiculously far like on a Conn 5xJ?

No, it doesn't, and the fifth valve is perfectly canted as not to feel awkward or intrusive to the normal hand placement. And Matt, being a repair tech first, allowed for enough room to get the valve out easily and to operate screwdrivers without having to contort one's self in weird uncomfortable positions.

I played one at TMEA a couple of weeks ago. It had the feel of a 56J, probably because they are of a similar design and bore size. However, this tuba is everything that's already been said; excellent pitch and slotting with a superior low range. It's also comfortable to hold. I'm not presently in the market for a 4/4 CC because I have what I need for my current situation, but if I was looking for the perfect all around 4/4 CC, this would be it.

Isn't there a BMB 4/4 as well? I think you liked that too, right Mark?

bort wrote:Isn't there a BMB 4/4 as well? I think you liked that too, right Mark?

Hi-
Yes I do---it is a nice tuba, but, IMHO, the EASTMAN is a better made and better playing tuba --.....but that's just my opinion...folks should go play both and make their own judgements.....
Mark

P.S. I always have school music teachers asking me about what BBb tubas I'd recommend.....I need to try the EASTMAN BBb 4/4 EBB 534 4 piston tuba--if it is anything like the CC, I will have a new recommendation for the instrumental music educators...we'll see....

DP wrote:a side question Mark, do you have a shoebox full of mouthpieces? Juss wonderin'

A few hundred Dale...
M

jonesmj wrote:

bort wrote:Isn't there a BMB 4/4 as well? I think you liked that too, right Mark?

Hi-
Yes I do---it is a nice tuba, but, IMHO, the EASTMAN is a better made and better playing tuba --and about $2,000 cheaper too...but that's just my opinion...folks should go play both and make their own judgements.....
Mark

Dang!

I think he must have a shoebox full of money

MikeMason wrote:I think he must have a shoebox full of money

He makes all his money shoveling snow.

Guessing Mark will keep this tuba..............for a couple months.... until the next "newest/greatest" tuba comes along.

tooba wrote:Guessing Mark will keep this tuba..............for a couple months.... until the next "newest/greatest" tuba comes along.

No--this one stays right here. Once you play one of these, you will understand why.
M

Mark,
So very glad you are happy with the tuba you got from us at Dillon Music. Just a heads up on pricing for everyone. Our website now shows MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) but please feel free to call the store or email matt at dillonmusic.com to ask for our in-store price.

Hi all -
I had the honor of being Matt Walters' play-tester on the prototype of the Eastman EBC-632 CC tuba (I'm sure there were others..) and also had the opportunity of playing the other prototype that was in competition with Matt's version. The Eastman brass (see what I did there??!?) came to the shop to have a listen to both tubas in a side-by-side comparison. Matt's protype was selected and the EBC-632 was born. The cool thing about all of this is that the production model is at least as good as the prototype. I've owned some spectacular instruments - including several created by Matt. I've always regretted letting them go and thought that I could never afford another Matt Walters masterpiece. Then, I played the pre-production version that Eastman sent to Dillon's. Based on that, I placed my order on an unlacquered EBC-632. When I visited Matt to pick it up, a lacquered (now owned by Mark Jones) and a silver one was there. All three were terrific and I would have been happy with any of them.
Everything Mark said is true. These are amazing instruments at any price. My quintet loves it and it can certainly hold its own in all but the largest of orchestras. When pushed, the sound just gets bigger.
Congratulations to Eastman for their integrity in staying true to the prototype and especially to Matt Walters. His genius has been well-documented on this board, I know, and it's very well deserved.
Scott Mendoker
tuba, Philadelphia Brass
Senior Artist Teacher - The Hartt School/University of Hartford

I ordered one this week. I can't wait to play it!
-DK

Just ordered one from my neighborhood dealer.
60 to 90 days.

Thanks to Matt for his fine work on the design, and to other posters for sharing their impressions.