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An instrument holding you back becomes evident when you "just know" that you could be palying better on different equipment. It seems you already can tell that it will soon be time to step up- if the Willson hadn't seemed that different to you it would have been a clue that maybe you're not ready. A higher quality tuba will give you room to grow as a musician.
This goes hand in hand with playing more difficult literature.
Instruments will tend to be most equal in the "bread and butter" register, separating themselves in extreme register and dynamics, not to mention response and intonation.
A student of mine experienced this recently switching from an adequate Cerveny BBb to a Getzen G50- "This is SO much easier!"
Of course the opposite can happen, when a player has a horn that is too much for them(would you give a beginner a Yorkbrunner?)

final thought: it doesn't have to be from BBb to CC to be considered a step up- one particularly juicy BBb I can think of is the Miraphone 191, yum...


JC

Short answer: when you can tell the difference and it bothers you enough to spend the money!

MA

Mostly:

schlepporello wrote:

MaryAnn wrote:When you can tell the difference

,whether there's a better horn obtainable or not!

How about when you can tell what's the instrument's fault and what's your fault?

There are a couple things you have to consider. For one, that's a huge jump in horns between your current horn and the Willson. I think it's really hard to answer your question without hearing you play. You should talk to your teacher or your future teacher if you're going to go to college for tuba.

I think it's a bit psychological, too. I can go back to the vintage 1940's 3 valve King I played in high school and get the same results in sound that I get now after a little work. Don't get me wrong, a better horn can make a difference. Just don't look for a new tuba to "fix all your problems". Sometimes a higher quality horn may magnify a problem instead of correcting it.