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I've been asked to double the Basso part for Ballsirenen with one string bass in a smaller Orchestra. Obviously not composed to include Tuba. For those who are familiar, would this sound best as written or 8vb. The string bass often takes Tuba parts 8va, but something about this makes me think it sounds best as written and not taken down. Although maybe no one in the ensemble or audience will know or care I appreciate the advice. Thanks!

Since it is not written for tuba in the first place, you should play the notes which sound best, regardless of written octave.That includes the opinion of the conductor, too.

Conductors opinion is 8vb and even delicately articulated, to me, still seems out of place for the style and period, but she is pleased as is the string bassist so...... Thank you for the input!

8vb makes sense since that's exactly what the string bass is already doing.
They sound an octave below written.
This is leftover from them reading along with cellos (and not having specific parts written for them).

All good points. I guess this is, or was, more of a style question when Tuba really isn't called for. I just made it my business to blend myself into the String Bass mostly 8vb tonight for concert. Good stuff. Thanks

I don't know the piece; you can have a great time using your judgement and functioning as a contributor to the arrangement.

I don’t know this music, even if I have a reasonably good idea about the meaning of the German title. Googling Ballsirenen pointed in more than one direction, so I would be glad being told the name of the comoser.

Doubling the string basses, even replacing them, by a contrabass tuba was common during early recordings until microphones became more sensitive and refined.

As an avid score reader (while my eyes worked) I would say that all tuba doublings of string bass parts by default shall happen in the string bass octave. Even if the cellos and the strings basses play in octaves a whole lot of time, you cannot count on that being the general rule. If you play the string bass part in the cello octave, while the cellos play something different, then you are creating a risky situation.

Klaus

String Bass parts are written 1 octave higher than they sound on the string bass. So if you want to play in the same octave as the string bass you would play it 8vb.