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I started off by playing the trumpet. Then moved to the baritone, mellophone then in high school started playing the BBb tuba. 28 years later daughter joined our local community band playing BBb tuba. Since I was taking her I decided to join they had an old Eb tuba. She's gone off to college now. I'm getting ready to purchase tuba, can't decide whether to stick with Eb or go back to BBb or try a CC?

I'd stick with the Eb if you enjoyed playing it. If you decide to try brass band, you are all set with your experience on the other horns and playing in treble clef. I switched from Bb to Eb in community band because the horn is a bit more manageable size-wise as I get older and it was fun to pick up a different key. Now I'm hooked on Eb.

Eb's are generally a little cheaper to purchase also.

Gilman, Minnesota? : )

I think you'd better get one of each.

I play an Eb in community bands, solos, and quintets. I have found it to be adequate for all of these settings. For soloing, I've found it to be better than the BBb because there is more literature and it seems to sing out better. With that said, you have to look at yourself and your situation. If your community band has other tubas and they are contra bass horns (BBb or CC), then you should stick with the Eb. If you are all by yourself, then consider the BBb horn. The advantages of the Eb are they area smaller horn which is easier to manage (you'll appreciate this more as you age). If you decide to purchase a horn, they are cheaper. For smaller groups like quintets, Eb tends to blend better (you will get a lot of controversy on this). You will not have to learn new fingerings. If you decide to double on euphonium, playing TC will be very easy for you to pick up. You have a horn to play for fee, It costs you nothing to continue to play Eb.The BBb will give you a bigger sound especially in the low ranges. This is important if the community band is larger and you have a lot of really low parts to play.

So, it depends on your situation, you and what you like. There is no bad decision here, unless you purchase a cheap India made horn.

Thank you for your responses. Gilman? I'm in South Carolina. We have a 43 piece community band and I am the only tuba. The Eb tuba that I am playing now is beat up a little. We are going to do some small jazz grouping also. I am strongly considering the Wessex Eb Danube and I see that Wessex is also coming out with a 6/4 soon a TB692 Grand BBb.

I started 40+ years ago with TC Baritone, tried Eb in a British brass band, loved it, but did not get along with High ego players. Tried community band, and in turn Bb and CC tuba. Learning BC and New fingerings, my old brain would blank out and go back to Eb fingerings, I was never happy. Went back to an Eb and I love it. Retired pastor play the Eb in church every Sunday. Live in NC, Near Charlotte, come over and try out my Eb, I have a 1909 Martin, and a Cervany. I have been looking for a new Eb for over a year and will gladly give you my impressions on my experiences. Big piece of advice, try, play.... than buy what you played, do not order and wait on the internet, some of the folks gladly take your money and you Wait. Others like to take you order, and what they ship is not the same as what was displayed at shows. Some of the Made in China tubas do vary in quality and sound.

Dustytuba wrote:some of the folks gladly take your money and you Wait. Others like to take you order, and what they ship is not the same as what was displayed at shows.

True for "some" and "others", as you say, but not real issues in the case of the company the OP is considering dealing with.

True.

4 valve compensating Eb tubas are great all-around instruments, often times available for a relatively reasonable price (such as the one that is currently up for sale on this board - I would jump on it).

Does anyone have any video of the Wessex Danube Eb tuba?

I'm also interested in rotary Eb tubas, such as Miraphone Norwegian Starlight and Norwegian Star, Wessex Danube, etc. I've read numerous positive comments about the Miraphone Eb horns, but relatively little about the Wessex Danube as a less expensive alternative.

lightweight BBb has the best of both worlds, especially if you don't actually need to play very far over the staff very often.
Infact many Eb tubas have intonation issues in the top-of staff region and BBb is actually easier.
It'll sync up well with your bandmates, easy to carry, easy to blow, and more focused and articulate than other choices.
It's the expected sound for brass quintet thanks to Canadian Brass.
Thinking a nice 3/4 or maybe Cerveny-family (light for their size plus they do lots of compact wraps if you like that)

Your post sounds a bit like my experience. I too started off in grade school on an Eb tuba and migrated to BBb in high school. I don't remember exactly how I made the transition from Eb to BBb but the good thing is that the Eb fingerings remained solid when I got back into playing about twenty years ago. I am very glad to have had he Eb experience because I am often handed treble tuba parts.

Today... I almost exclusively play BBb tuba but still keep an Eb tuba around 'just because'.

For my use in particular.... I think BBb tuba lends itself better to concert band material.

WagnerRing wrote:I'm also interested in rotary Eb tubas, such as Miraphone Norwegian Starlight and Norwegian Star,

You can find various reviews of the Danube if you look.

I played both the Star Light and the Star, and they are really two different tubas. The Light is truly a solo tuba and the Star, although it certainly is nimble, is much more suitable for group playing. Neither is cheap. I personally much preferred the Star.

Coming from a guy who just made his first tuba purchase in almost 15 years, and that tuba being a CC, you may think I'm the least qualified person to chime in about about my thoughts on Ebs but I've formed some options on this matter over the years, so here it goes.

First, I purchased a CC for two reasons that may not apply to your situation, but my methodology will hopefully carry over to your shopping. I was initially looking at CCs because Gary Bird forced me (which I say fondly & with lighthearted nostalgia) to learn CC in college. Those fingerings became hardwired, so I wanted to stick with the beast I knew to aid the relearning process and to avoid getting discouraged by jumbled fingerings. I purchased my CC (Eastman ECB632) after being blown away by the sound, size, features, ergonomics, playability, and after-sale care (Matt @ Dillon) provided with my choice instrument. This PARTICULAR CC, was the one. It makes me excited to pick it up and practice. I'm stoked for community band tomorrow. Perhaps for you, the horn I described above is a BBb... or an Eb?

All that being said, if I wasn't shopping for a CC, I'd be looking at Ebs for sure. I guess you could say I have Eb-evnvy... even though I've never played one! But when I've got full mastery of my CC range, and if/when perhaps start playing in some more professional groups (such the audition-only Brooklyn Wind Ensemble)... Eb here I come! The Danube, for price reasons, is #1 on my list to check out. If money were no object, I would love a Miraphone N-Star. Two words: Øystein Baadsvik! That man has such a rounded mastery of the Eb's range, from the basement to the ceiling, he's really put the instrument in the spotlight (literally and figuratively) for many players. The Eb just seems so versatile and agile to me. It also helps that I never played an F I liked with the exception of the Petrushka... now THAT'S a tuba (but I digress).

There's my $0.02... take anything of value and discard the rest (great disclaimer for most content found on the internet).

My friend the brass band player converted to Eb from C. His BMB horn is making him very happy. I don't play Eb myself, but I heard great things come out of a Kanstul, and also a Norwegian Star. Another friend does everything on a Wilson Eb and loves it. Many good choices.