TubeNet

... a 4/4, 4 piston valve, lightweight, CC tuba, I would want to buy a.......

Meinl Weston 2144

YCB-621

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone. Mark, I just bought and quickly sold a 2J because the valve angle wasn't good for my shoulder issues. I imagine a 3J would present the same problems for me. Bort, the 2144 sounds interesting. I saw it for sale here on Tubenet in Toronto. I never heard of this instrument. It does sound like it could fit my needs, but it's in Toronto. And, it's probably the only one of its kind. And, I already own a 621 CC and that's a 3/4 tuba. It's a great little horn, but I'm looking for something a little bigger. Keep 'em coming, guys!

The small Marzan CC tubas might fit the size and style... but they were made by Willson, so not going to be very lightweight.

There sure arent many 4/4 and under CC tuba options. I guess there is the MW 3250 (i think thats it), or maybe a Gronitz PCM isnt too huge (and handmade, so less weight... but more price...).

Tough one!

A MW 3450 is of average weight, perhaps a little lighter than some, and and is a solid 4/4 with a compact wrap which makes it easy to hold. I was incredibly surprised with how well the one of these I owned played--it was both even across the registers and had excellent intonation and slotting.

I also owned a 3450 a few years ago. Very nice tubas, but not what I'm looking for right now and I want only 4 valves.

A Holton TU330 sounds like a good fit for what you're looking for, but since only a few hundred were made it might be a tough horn to find. The Conn 52J would have been a good fit, except it has 5 valves, but I've heard of people removing the 5th valve and it actually opens up the horn a bit.

Maybe a piggy?

A vintage Hirsbrunner HB 1P. I believe Scott Watson has one for sale (or at least he did). I think these horns are magical.

Thanks again for all of the replies, everyone. I did think about the Harvey Phillips Holton, but like it was said here, they're probably hard to come by being that not many were made. I know Eli Newberger uses one.

And, I had an HB-1P years ago. It might be rather large and heavy for what I want. Plus, I sold mine because I got tendonitis from it. That's when I bought a Kalison DS.

I did consider a Piggy. Can't get much lighter than that. But, it's rotary valves. I improvise better on pistons. And, finding a good one can be a challenge.

This all confirms what I really thought in the first place. These tubas really don't exist, unless you find an old vintage tuba. Of course, for BBb, there's plenty of options. I'm not going there to play jazz stuff after spending all of these years doing it on CC.

I'm not desperate. I used my CC sousaphone twice this weekend. There's definitely an advantage, when playing in a loud combo type band, with possible amplification, in having the bell pointing forward. Plus, I think that's because it's a CC instrument, it has a clarity and focus you don't get from BBb sousaphones. And, my 186 is great, but there's that rotary for jazz thing.

So, still looking around. Thanks guys!

There are some Canadian Brass / Getzen G-50 tubas that were made as 4 piston CC tubas. I've been told they were all originally owned/used by Chuck Daellenbach in the quintet if they were 4 piston instruments. If you like the York Monster turned CC tuba type of instrument, it might be worth trying to hunt one of these down, but they're far from readily available.

There are also some Kanstul models that are 4 piston CC tubas. I tried one about 15 years ago that belonged to David Graves. It was described as a 3/4 tuba, but it was much larger than something like your Yamaha 621. It was for sale at the time, but I did not buy it. More along the lines of the Conn 2J in terms of size. I don't see many Kanstul tubas, period, let alone this model, so it's almost certainly not readily available. This was not the current Kanstul model 90.

Perhaps there is an Amati currently available as a 4 piston CC? With all of the models and configurations they offer, it would not surprise me.

Otherwise, the other posters came up with pretty much everything I thought of: HB-1p, 2144, older Conn, older B&M, the Harvey Phillips Holton. Not much to pick from.

Tom wrote:There are also some Kanstul models that are 4 piston CC tubas. I tried one about 15 years ago that belonged to David Graves. It was described as a 3/4 tuba, but it was much larger than something like your Yamaha 621. It was for sale at the time, but I did not buy it. More along the lines of the Conn 2J in terms of size. I don't see many Kanstul tubas, period, let alone this model, so it's almost certainly not readily available. This was not the current Kanstul model 90.

Yes, this is the Kanstul 902. This 5-valve version was for sale on Brass Ark a little while ago.

This is a professional 3/4 CC tuba made by Kanstul in Anaheim. This one is a few years old and hasn't been used much at all. It features a CR controlled resistance rotary with 4 front action piston valves. It has a 16" bell flare and is an excellent tuba for a musician looking for a compact horn from shows, pit work, studio work, quintet, chamber music or small orchestras. Includes a Cronkhite gig bag. $5000

You guys are great. Thanks for the replies. Still, there ain't much out there. Bort, I played a screw bell Kanstul at the Army Band Conference that Lee had at his booth several years ago. I liked it a lot, but it turns out the pitch was off by a half step or so. It seemed to play well within itself and I liked it, but I guess it was a Db tuba or B tuba. I can't remember which way the pitch went. I don't know if that instrument was improved upon, or if they created another model after that. I would imagine a 4/4, 4 valve Kanstul would be quite nice (for me). But, it would also be expensive. I guess I didn't mention that, right now, I'd rather buy a hot sport back car, than a tuba. That's another subject.

Tom, I didn't know Getzen made a 4 valve G50. That sounds interesting.

But again, there ain't much out there. The market these days seems to be mainly for large CC's and F's. Most tubists who play after college, either as community musicians, or all around gig players, don't need large CC's or F's. I know it's another time, but look at what Harvey did on his Conn. I would like to see more 4/4, 4 valve CC's. Thanks again for the replies everyone.

Another option might be a horn built by Sam Gnagey. He has built 4- valve CC tubas. They are 4/4 CC horns and get great reviews, but like you've said, there aren't too many of them around.

Jordan, that's probably my best option, and I kind of knew that all along. I've owned one of Sam's tubas too. Great horns. It's definitely a possibility.

hrender wrote:... It's not especially light, however.

I thought of that after I posted. I have a BBb horn made of a King body and Holton bell and it's not a lightweight for sure!

Yeah, Jordan,
The King 2341 weighs about 21 lbs. according to an amazon ad. I would suspect that the older metal that Sam uses might weigh a bit more. I can get by with my 186 that weighs around 20 lbs.

hrender wrote:Bill -- I have a 4/4 4v CC built by Sam. It's not especially light, however. I've been thinking about selling it for a while since I pretty much only play my BBb now. If you're interested in it, send me a PM.

I would be interested to know how much yours weighs, being cut to CC and only having four valves compared to my BBb Frankentuba.

Have you checked out the Big Mouth Brass J-834 and J-845? Both available as 4 valve or 5 valve, healthy bore size and bell diameter. Weight not given on web site. Just one more to add to the mix!