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Hello all! I am new here, and I have to admit, writing this first post is a bit intimidating given the expertise of the audience. I have been lurking as a guest for a while, then created an account and lurked a bit more before attempting my first post.

I am not a pro, nor even a amateur at this point. In fact, I have not played a tuba since my last spring HS concert 27 years ago. But I loved it, and have always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to go back to it. Well, I am not getting any younger, so now is as good a time as any to jump back in. And I am working from home at least until Labor Day, so I can fill commute times and breaks with practice time.

The question is...where to start? I have never owned my own tuba before, and in HS, you just grabbed the one with the least dents in it out of the instrument room and went at it.

My budget is small (need to stay under $2K, the further under the better), and I will need everything from the horn to the mouthpiece to the music/instructional exercises. I looked through this BBS and didn't find a "start here" sticky anywhere, which either means there isn't one, or I suck at the google (strong possibility).

So far I have only started researching the tuba itself. I have decided against plastic. Not that I am fundamentally opposed to that, but there doesn't seem to be any real cost/quality incentive to do so. It appears that Wessex and Mack represent the better quality coming out of China at prices that could get into my range for a new tuba? There is also obviously a wide range of used instruments out there that potentially fit that bill. But not being experienced has me concerned about buying something site unseen from an unknown source.

As far as music and exercise goes, I figure that at a minimum I could pick up a "fundamentals" book like we used in MS/HS and start there. I am completely lost when it comes to the mouthpiece.

My goals are modest. At a minimum, I will play it around the house and enjoy aggravating my teenagers with it. At the most, I would play in the church canata "orchestra", or maybe find a couple old band geeks to oompa along with. Something like a community band or quintet would represent the pinnacle of what I would aspire too.

Any thoughts or opinions specifically about finding a good budget tuba, or about "how to start" in general would be welcomed! For what it is worth, I am in the Atlanta, GA area if anyone is aware of local resources. Again, my ability to google is suspect, but I haven't turned up much.

Sorry - forgot to mention - my name is Gary...maybe should have led with that!

Welcome, Gary!

I'll assume that since you haven played since HS, that you are most comfortable on a BBb instrument?

If so, there are many optons for used, good quality instruments - the King 2340/1 and Conn 4J/5J come to mind, but there are others too.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 4303487391" target="_blank

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 4311554128" target="_blank

Not familiar with Atlanta, but I'll wager someone who does will check in soon - - - -

Many others out there - good luck!

A very biased, and personal, view from across the pond (UK), but I'd get a Compensator Eb or BBb, Imperial/New Standard/Besson etc, then find a community brass/wind band.
And the Arban (now in public domain on internet) is more than enough to get you going playing wise!

Books 1 and 2 of Practical Studies for Tuba, Getchell and Hovey.

Mack Brass has three BBb tubas under 2k. Pick one.

Use the mouthpiece that comes with it. ID the issues you don't like about it, then try another that addresses that issue. (Rim, size, sound, what have you)

Your story is very similar to my own!!

Sounds similar to my story - stopped playing after college as I busied myself with career, marriage, house, kids . . .
I resumed in my 40s, primarily to normalize instrumental music in the house so my then-young children would assume that it was a thing for them to do, when the opportunity arose.
I bought an inexpensive, 3-valved BBb - local, used (i.e. inexpensive, fully depreciated, with no tax or shipping costs) - to dip my toes in, and joined my church orchestra - easy charts, low pressure, low time commitment, but regular practice/performance to keep me practicing/playing despite life's distractions.

After struggling through the discrepancy between how my brain remembered I used to play and what I could actually do after a 20 year break, I outgrew the starter horn, so I flipped it at no loss, and bought something a bit better (still used, still local), expanded my playing opportunities, continued recouping my skills, and continued flipping horns & mouthpieces until I eventually (many playing hours and horns later) worked my way to my (for now ) inventory of suitable tools to my needs.
I ventured into Eb for a while, but music still has to squeeze into the gaps of my other priorities, so I've stuck with BBb to reduce the complexity (and time/effort commitment) of meeting my principal musical goals.

In sum:
Prioritized my responsibilities (family, finance), identified my musical goals, identified my weaknesses (propensity to over-spend for new interests & hobbies, lack of patience & discipline, lots of commits on my time, etc, etc, - plenty of self-imposed challenges), made a loose plan to navigate a solution, and have mostly stayed in bounds.

Specifically: stuck with the familiar Bb, didn't over-commit money or time, worked incrementally, and eased my way back with a lot of calisthenics (scales, long tones, arpeggios, etc), and picked up 'chestnut' exercise books like Arbans, Rochut, Tyrell, Kopprasch, Blazhevich, etc,

I too-easily rationalize the purchase of new, shiny things, but I do not regret this approach, and I'm glad I didn't commit early to an expensive instrument, because it took me lots of playing time to figure out what horn is appropriate to my current circumstances. For example, I no longer have a 28-year old's lower back, so I'm limited on what I'm able to sling into a car without spending the next few days confined to bed. Likewise, I'm more constrained now in playing ergonomics (middle-aged eyes, for instance, render some horns unusable to me, as does the sensitivity to seating posture . . . my high school teachers were right - I regret all that slumping in school), so my advice is to leave yourself latitude to switch horns as you make your way back.

bloke wrote:practicing at home, while restoring past abilities/techniques...??
I believe I would recommend practicing LOUD (yeah: pretty darn loud), because at-home practice tends to be confidential, with a tendency to practice from "very-very soft" to "soft".

Once you get a really good sound (as, perhaps, you had years ago) playing REALLY loud, then work on playing "regular-loud", "not-particularly-loud", "sort-of-soft", "soft", and "really-soft".

Hey...If my advice is bad, you can come back and tell me that I suck.

To touch upon this point, as someone who returned after a 15 year hiatus (although I went through a music degree and was fairly proficient when I stopped), this is good advice. Reason being, the proper embouchure requires a mix of muscular control and air support. When playing softly, you’re relying on the musculature possibly more to maintain tone. Simply giving the horn plenty of air helps mitigate this to a degree so that you can develop sufficient musculature without making bad habits.

I was making bad habits. I was playing too soft and compensating with a small aperture. When I went to articulate cleanly, I kept getting this weird delay. I broke it down and it was some weird compensation I was doing for the small airstream. When I “put the pedal to the metal”, articulations were fine.

One other thing i would recommend are short but frequent sessions when starting back. You’re making your body adapt to an unnatural activity (again), but you’re no longer in your youth where these adaptations are handled quickly.

bloke wrote:
Hey...If my advice is bad, you can come back and tell me that I suck.

I’m offering a 30 day DOUBLE your money back guarantee on my advice!!

Thanks to all for the great information! I am all ears if any others have suggestions for a newly born again tuba player.

The assumption that I would stick to BBb is accurate. I have enough of a relearning curve ahead of me that I will take any head start I can take. If anyone has a starter horn that they are ready to flip, let me know!

Roweenie - I had looked at that York several times because it looked like a steal, but just got nervous about spending that much money on something that didn't have some sort of assurance that it would play. The King 4 valve looks promising, but I would ordinarily just pass right by a listing like that since they do not mention the key, and I am not well enough versed to know what is what. Is the King 4 valve indeed a BBb?

Bloke - That is where I am too - I would be more comfortable seeing it in person to confirm all is well. Unfortunately it is a solid 9 hours of straight driving time to get to it, so I am going to hold out for something closer. I don't see anything posted on Ebay within 200 miles at the moment, but I will keep an eye out.

Three Valve - I think you have my back-up plan nailed down. I would like to spend less on a quality used tuba, but if I strike out there, it is good to know that I can pick any of the Mack's to get going.

Can anyone comment on this one? I am assuming this is a "generic" tuba from China?

https://www.dillonmusic.com/used-dillon ... a-sn-5381/" target="_blank

Or even this one?

https://www.dillonmusic.com/used-tone-king-bbb-tuba/" target="_blank

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

I’m guessing the first of those horns at Dillon Music is Chinese in origin. The “Tone King” looks to be a stencil made by Conn, per the description. A zoom in on the bell reveals “New York” in the engraving, which looks USA in origin. The newer Chinese engraving seems to be machine done as it’s too “perfect” or something, but I digress.

The person to reach out to is Matt Walters (who posts on this forum as well). He will be happy to give an honest assessment of those tubas from his perspective.

If you are willing to make the drive in to NJ, it’s a lot of fun to just browse that store and see all the cool stuff that they have.

Edited to Add:

The Tone King proportions look nearly identical to the newer style King 2341 and the various versions of CC and BBb tubas that have been inspired by Matt Walters’ custom works. Based on that, it probably has a really nice sound.

Thanks Matt G - I will reach out to directly to Matt Walters. Looks like there is an old King recording Tuba that may fit the bill too. Not sure how I missed that one. Might be pretty with some TLC!

gtche98 wrote:Thanks Matt G - I will reach out to directly to Matt Walters. Looks like there is an old King recording Tuba that may fit the bill too. Not sure how I missed that one. Might be pretty with some TLC!

Those old Kings are nice also. Matt might also have some other things not listed on the site. The 3-valve bell front is a good deal for $700. You can probably ask nicely and they will do some additional dent work on the horn for a reasonable fee. Not sure what their repair backlog is right now.

That eBay King that Bloke posted looks like a steal.
I found horns locally on Craigslist - you might want to check there, too.

Welcome, Gary. I did the same thing last year, and this forum was very helpful. Found a Mirafone in my $2k budget on the For Sale listings, here, too (had it shipped, based on the horn's reputation), which was nice.

Bloke's practice advice is great, too. Wish I'd known that earlier, though it's not an issue now.

Welcome to the board and back to the tuba! I will second (or third, or whatever) the votes for a King. They are great horns with a great sound. That ebay one is certainly a great price. Finding one with four valves for under a grand is a good find!

Well, someone must have hit the "buy it now" button on that 4 valve King, because it was gone 3 hours before the auction was slated to end. Oh well. I have talked to Matt at Dillon's and may be going with one of his horns.

Welcome to TubeNet and back to the tuba, Gary!

Baltimore Brass has a used Conn 20J (which is a good-size BBb) for sale at $1,195.00 (no case, though), here:

http://www.baltimorebrass.net/index.php?cat=5" target="_blank

This is far from a "starter" tuba- you can do a lot with it. Intonation and response are good. And if BBC is selling it, it'll be in good shape. If you wish, you can get a used case later or have someone like Taylor Music make one for you. For a mouthpiece, you might start with a Conn Helleberg 120S (doesn't say if one comes with this tuba).

They also sell pretty much any method book you might need.

Give them a call and tell them you got their info on TubeNet.

Gary, I’m in Georgia and have a cheap Conn 10J for sale. 3-valve Bb. It was a former school horn, so it’s very dented and has a few small bell cracks, but it plays well. And it’s cheap. You could buy it to see if you liked playing again, and if you do, have plenty from your budget for repairs. I’m selling only because I injured my right arm and have pain from the hand position on a top valve tuba. I could meet you somewhere south of Atlanta, and you could look it over. There’s a PM feature here you can reach by clicking on my user name. Shoot me one if interested.

PM Sent - Thanks John!