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I think that the 1291 seems to be the more popular choice these days. One of my students just bought one and it's a very fine tuba with a very great low register. Alan Baer had a lot to do with the design of that horn. I never played a 995, but I did hear the Ithaca College Orch. and Chorus perform Carmina Burana at Avery Fisher Hall last Tues. Christian Carichner is the tubist in the orch. at IC this year and he sounded great on his 995. He was able to cut through a large orch., 250 member chorus, large pc section and 2 grand pianos on his 995 with a full, rich sound. I also heard him play Pictures on it back at IC and he sounded great there too. My daughter plays horn in the orch. too - side note!! If I were looking for a large 4/4-5/4 size horn, those are the 2 that I would play and give the most attention to. Good luck!

To further help Jung-moo, perhaps someone could post something about intonation tendencies or consistency. If Jung-moo will have to order one of these on approval (without being able to play both side-by-side), which one is more likely to have a minimal number of inconsistencies? (i.e. which one will most likely be received and work well with the fewer number of problems?)

Any thoughts?

I can continue to praise the 1291 as a great horn. I haven't personally played the besson, but I have played a Besson Eb that I was VERY impressed with. However, since Dillon music lists the 995 at $7058 us and the 1291 at $6390 us, I would say that the 1291 wins outright. However, price should not be a huge consideration when choosing something as important as a CC tuba.

As far as intonation goes, the 1291 is very consistent throughout its range. The only trouble I have had with intonation is in the lower range, around low F. These issues are most often easily fixed with the 5th valve. The way this instrument centers in the high register is amazing, and the lower register is powerful and very present. It does have a very rich low sound, but it took some getting used to especially because I was used to a BBb that responds very differently in that range. This tuba is also LOUD. Perhaps this is just me, but I cut through the ensemble much more with a lot less effort in all ranges of the instrument. This instrument can (for me) run with tubas costing thousands more and often beat the pants off of them.

Be sure to play test the specific tuba you are going to buy or have someone else that you trust play test it.

Have you consulted with Dr. Little or any other of his upper level students on this matter? I'm sure Dr. Little would be happy to offer advice based on his many years experience as a player/teacher and someone I'm sure who has tried out a few horns.