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Good Morning Everyone,

I am retiring from the Army Field Band in roughly a year and I need to purchase a 4/4 CC Tuba since I cannot take any Army horns with me in retirement.

With that said, a couple weeks ago I went to the exhibit hall at the US Army Band's Tuba/Euph Conference to try a bunch of horns. I ended up purchasing an absolutely incredible 4/4 CC from Tom McGrady at Mack Brass. This horn is the prototype that he has been working on for over 2 years and is based off of the Nirschl 4/4. This is THE best 4/4 tuba I have ever played and has the best low register of any tuba in its class. For those interested: Valves 1-3 are .757, 4th is a huge .797 and the 5th is a .867. The slotting, intonation, and sound are all spot on! It is nearly impossible to overblow this horn.

The reason for writing is because I have not seen any comments on this forum yet in regards to this truly incredible horn that is quite affordable. BTW, I get absolutely nothing from anyone for writing about this horn. I just feel that there needs to be an awareness that this horn is out there. If you have a chance to try out the “Little Thunderbird” 4/4 CC Tuba at a conference, DO IT. Or contact Tom and maybe you could try it out at his warehouse in Virginia. I shared a couple pictures below.

Matt Nelson

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M95bO0 ... sp=sharing" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KYBXHn ... sp=sharing" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

I played this horn and thought it was very good. One thing I've learned in 35+ years of going to that event is not to fall in love in that room, too many acoustic land mines but were I shopping for a 4/4 this would get my attention.

kingrob76 wrote:I played this horn and thought it was very good. One thing I've learned in 35+ years of going to that event is not to fall in love in that room, too many acoustic land mines but were I shopping for a 4/4 this would get my attention.

We went outside the elephant room to evaluate it further and all initial thoughts of how it played and felt were confirmed and that's why it was purchased. One thing to note is that he is a pro and knows what he is doing and looking for so this made the decision very easy for him.

kingrob76 wrote:I played this horn and thought it was very good. One thing I've learned in 35+ years of going to that event is not to fall in love in that room, too many acoustic land mines but were I shopping for a 4/4 this would get my attention.

On the other hand, allowing oneself to be open to love at first sight can present some opportunities that might be otherwise missed. You and I played two of the little Eastmans, and one was clearly more playable than the other. It was much easier to notice behind the mouthpiece than in front, but had I only played the one I didn't buy, I might have missed the opportunity.

And that goes time ten for the Hirsbrunner.

I'm never "in the market", but the market still finds me from time to time.

But even though I'm not in the same league as the pros who attend that workshop, I still have developed an idea of what I want in a tuba, and I know it when it happens. I lacked that in my younger years.

Rick "who was indeed looking at 3/4 or 4/4 Bb tubas for quintet use, but not planning to buy anything yet" Denney

I don't see this horn on the Mack Brass website. Is he selling it yet?

LibraryMark wrote:I don't see this horn on the Mack Brass website. Is he selling it yet?

The one we had at the conference was the final prototype. We haven't posted pics yet as we are waiting on the first shipment to arrive, should be within the next week or so. Once we go through and approve of the final changes it will be up on the site soon after. Pricing will be somewhere in the 5900 to 6400 mark depending on what the final customs am d taxes are. We are taking reservations now and only have 2 still available on this order.

Ouch - too pricey for me!