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My nephew is graduating from high school this spring. He is playing tuba in his high school band and is rather good. He is planning on college in the fall, going into engineering. At his high school he currently plays the school's MW 25. He wants to continue playing tuba. His mother is considering purchasing a tuba as his graduation present. He likely will play in one of the minor college bands or a community band. It likely would be a long time horn, but would not have heavy use. Based on his experience with rotary tubas, his lack of sophistication on knowing what he wants and his mother's budget, I was thinking good choices would be a Wessex Luzern or Prague or a Mack Brass TU200 (miraclone 186) or TU201 (Wilson clone). Anyone have some guidance on these tubas so that I can give her a prioritized list. (I would consider other options in a similar price range.)

Thanks for any help you can give us on this.

Brian

Hey - I am an Engineer, who also plays in my church orchestra, brass ensemble, and local community band. I wish good luck to your nephew.
I think you're on the right track with these options.

About playing in college - I went to North Carolina State University (to major in EE). They don't offer a music degree, but do have a music department. I played in the Marching Band in the fall and Concert Band in the spring each year. The music department had tubas available for check-out use in the Concert Band - I didn't need to own one. They also had instrument lockers where I could keep my tuba safely locked away during the day without needing to take it back to my dorm room. It may be good to wait and verify these things with whatever college he gets into before buying an instrument.

On to Tuba choices:
If I was going to buy another tuba (probably getting rid of my current one), I'd take a good look at the Wessex Luzern first.
3 reasons - 1, because it has the 5th valve ; 2, the design of the horn (that it's copied from) is very good; 3 - it's not too tall, so it transports easier than taller tubas.

My dad has the Mack 210 - it's very good and has a very broad feel. He plays it in all kinds of ensembles. It's otherwise the 4-valve version (lower cost) of the Luzern. I only pick it over the Luzern if cost is an issue.

The Mack 200 design (Jinbao model TU-200) used to be made in East Germany and sold here as stencils (under various names) in the 60s-80s. My dad also has one of these East German made, US imported stencils. He got it while he was in college and continued to play it while he was in the US Army band (in West Germany of all places). I borrowed and played it all the way through my college years too. Compared to the 210, it has a more German tone. My dad still has it, but he prefers his Mack 210 right now. Maybe that helps inform your decision.

That's my 2-cents on this - Richard

John Packer offers a nice looking and reportedly great playing Meinl Weston model 25 BBb "copy" that is a (again, reportedly) very "high-grade" Chinese offering at a reasonable price point. If this young man currently is playing a MW 25, likes it and is doing well, then this may be something to seriously consider if it is to be a long term tuba for an avocational player.

This is an old (Dec. 2015) thread, but some comments are relevant plus there are photos:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=69598

I know nothing of current pricing and availability, both of which should be discussed with a dealer such as Mid-South Music ("bloke").

Consider a Cerveny 861. Used they are not expensive and are good players. Won't get a hernia like with a MW 25.

Dan Shultz has several tubas on his website that would serve your nephew well. A Miraphone 186, a Karl Ziess, King, etc. are all good horns and at very reasonable prices.

Thanks for all the comments. It is a great help. I will see them this weekend and learn more about their preferences.

I may be late on this reply but for what it's worth, I have the Wessex Luzern and I'm loving it. The Horn seems well built with everything tight after a few years of use. The sound is round and focused in most areas. It has a few intonation concerns but for the money I am very satisfied.