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Hi my daughter is 17yo tuba player. She performed at All State last weekend and I guess there were reps set up (I didn't go, had to work) and my daughter said she tried both a CC and a BB Eastman from a guy from Dillons, she said it was $4700. She really liked it, she's playing a beat up older miraphone and liked the horn and liked that it was piston. She is going to college next year and everyone says she should get a CC, she tried it but since she's not used to a CC she felt really connected to the BB. She's torn on what to possibly get. She is in pre-college now, she is going to All Eastern in April and she will be playing in college but not applying to conservatory. Two questions: does she NEED to go to the CC and do I NEED to get her a new Eastman (vs Used). I have one kid in college who I had to buy a 9K bassoon for last year, and this one is going into college. Plus, I need to also buy an oboe for my son before the end of the school year. Two kids in college this september, plus a need for a tuba and an oboe...LOL. YAY me. 4700 for a tuba would be the very top of my budget so used might fit the bill? Thoughts?

I'll also add that she is very small in stature, barely 5ft tall

The horn can be older than the player and still be a good one, and can also be the best one for the money. Repair shops are good places to ask, they will know who has what in the area and who might have an extra horn to sell. There are a couple of them sponsoring this forum.

I've got a 5 valve VMI 3302 BBb for sale for $4250.. it's a great tuba and was my first horn.

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If she’s got a school horn for now, I’d wait until she’s in college and has a sense of the kind of playing she’ll be doing regularly. Hopefully she can borrow university instruments in the meantime, and get a sense of the kinds of things that are out there.

The school she attends may have a horn for her to use right off.

She recently rehearsed and performed with the Harvard Orchestra (as a ringer)...they did Wagner. She will also be the Tuba in the NY String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on the Dec 28th doing Tchaikovsky 6..this is what she will most likely be doing. Top college orchestra, Tanglewood, etc

You need to get your kids to switch to trumpet! Way cheaper.

Is tuba playing really the best career path for your daughter? It's a great thing to be a fantastically talented player, even at the state level, but career prospects are very limited down that path. Also, If the cost of a $4-5k tuba stretches your budget, is this something that's sustainable through college when she might also need a good F tuba?

I might call the university's tuba instructor and ask HIM or HER.

First, I agree with those who have said that the best person to ask is her private tuba instructor if she has one.

If you're wanting our answers, the answer to the question depends on a lot of things.

First: is she majoring in tuba performance in college and wanting to play the tuba in symphony orchestras full-time for a living?

Or, is she majoring in music education (and not performance)?

Or, is she minoring in music?

Or, is she not majoring or minoring in music at all and just playing on the side?


First, if she's going the performance career path, she will need a CC tuba.

If she's not, I can't really answer the question because I only have experience in the professional performing career path setting.

Different schools may have different cultures about what tuba is expected to be played (like CC vs. BBb), even if it's not a career path. So I would check on that if possible.

Sousaswag wrote:I've got a 5 valve VMI 3302 BBb for sale for $4250.. it's a great tuba and was my first horn.

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^ This would be a GREAT tuba for your daughter if she is set on playing tuba in college