Just to get the records straight, the tornistertuba, which literally means back-pack tuba was originally made for Austro-Hungarian military bands as can be seen in this picture from I believe 1908.KiltieTuba wrote:Original “travel tuba” is the Cerveny tornister used by the Swiss.
The hype about travel tubas may have passed as these are not the latest thing, but I can say as one of the main sellers of such, that people do still buy, although obviously not as many as when they first came out, but that is only to be expected. They are very popular for Jazz in that the tuba player still has eye contact with their audience, and with a mic, the diminutive size of a tornister tuba is not a problem. My favourite video of one is this showing how good they can sound, if played well without over-blowing...
For the orchestral tubist, I personally think, a better travel tuba would be a French C tuba. Little bigger than a tornister, and smaller than a euphonium, but a ‘real’ symphonic tuba that can also be played with the orchestra - and of course the correct tuba for any French orchestral repertoire.