Best Piston F tuba on the market?

[Lee Stofer]

Good point, Tuben!
I played Herr Nirchl's 4/4 size, 4+1 F-tuba at ITEC last year, and I came away thinking that could have been the very best-playing F-tuba there. It was very simple and straightforward, nothing fancy in appearance, but it was a simply amazing horn. I wonder how much of that could be a result of the carbon-fiber rotors?

I would also like to mention that Eric Murphy and I visited with Dave Surber at Getzen this afternoon, and played the new Willson smaller piston 5-valve F-tuba. The instrument is sturdily built, has wonderful slides and valves, and is musically top-tier, also. What a gorgeous, just-right-sized F-tuba! There are about two or three of these in the country, so play-test one if you get the opportunity.

[jonesbrass]

The "best 'piston' F tuba on the market" (as they will gladly make one, if someone would order one) is the Willson 3200RZ (ROTARY VALVES) F tuba.

When someone talks about "piston" F tubas, I suspect what they are really hoping for is (not particularly piston valves, but) a "super-easy medium-low range" (so they can spend more time practicing their contrabass tuba, and less time practicing their F tuba). The Willson ROTARY 3200RZ offers THE BEST medium low range of all F tubas (with "low C" response equal to that of a 4/4-size BBb tuba), along with (even though only 5 valves) good intonation. (Just as any only-five-valves F tuba, there is a mathematical intonation "traffic jam" around the low D area, which is not a range in which F tubas are played very often.)

The 3200RZ tubas simply are not commonly bought because dealer cost is over $11,000 (plus shipping, plus bag).

bloke "not a Willson dealer...just sayin' "

I own and play my old-style 3200FA-5 on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, I play about 95% of everything on either this or my little Cerveny F. Large F, I use it as my "go to" tuba for everything except works that require the broadest possible tuba tone. Low range on both tubas is excellent . . . as is the response throughout the rest of the range. Intonation on the 3200 is very good, better than the Cerveny, without the use of alternate fingerings. I won't part with either F tuba . . . of course YMMV.

[tclements]

I just sold FIVE F tubas. I KEPT the Yamaha 822 .....