FS Adams F Tuba
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2026 6:28 pm
For Sale: Adams F Tuba
4 piston, 1 rotor
0.7 mm guage
$15,400.00
I chose this tuba from two at the Midwest Clinic (convention) in December of 2023. There was another Adams F that was privately owned, and I think the one I chose was the best of the three. The alignment of most of the slides was, frankly, a little off, but the work was done well, and the horn played noticeably better afterwards.
Richard White recommended I move the leadpipe up the bell for response reasons, which I had done, and made it a fixed leadpipe on the bell side, left the knuckle on the vavle side alone, and had the heavy-duty collar on the removable leadipe removed. For whatever reason, the tuba played even better, though the ergonomics are a little odd. That is all reversible.
On all my previous rotor F tubas I owned, I have raised the height and angle of the leadpipe without actually having the leadpipe bent. It can be unsoldered, rotated, and re-installed as you will see here on the Adams, if I can get pictures on here or send them, as well as on my JBL, which I am selling in another ad. Not the best thing for the horn cosmetically, especially lacquered tubas, but the first time I did this to my first F tuba (1987 with a PR-10), the stabbing pain above my right scapula disappeared. It helped a lot and can be easily reversed.
To be frank, I am no expert, but I find the pitch on most piston F tubas to be more difficult than the B&S rotor tubas I have owned. The Adams is the best of the ones I’ve tried, but it is not perfect. It has taken some getting used to, but it has worked very well in solo and quintet settings – people don’t complain to me about the pitch, even when I ask.
It projects very well. The color fits in very well. The reception I have gotten from quintets and people in the audience for solos has been very positive. I have had almost no opportunity to play it in orchestra – I feel somewhat jinxed in my job because we rarely play anything that needs F tuba and space on stage is at a minimum. I used it on a Star Wars movie last season for a lick that stayed up there and had a high Bb in it. The horn has a high Bb, but it’s not the best horn for that note. My new Adams F is better on that. The main reason I bought the tuba in the first place is because I was approaching a performance run of the Marsalis concerto and my JBL wasn’t going to match well with the piece, the Petrouchka I had was good, but not as good as the Adams. It made the Marsalis believable for me. It saved my butt. It’s a great tuba.
I am selling it because I bought a thinner-gauge Adams F tuba. After having a piston F tuba that works well for a few years now I want to use it as my main F tuba. But because Richard White kept telling me to try the Adams F in 0.6mm gauge, which I did, and liked it even more, I bought one about a month ago. I don’t need two Adams F tubas.
To match A440 instead of Euro pitch, I have a longer tuning slide from the factory and one made by the previous owner of my newer Adams F, Joseph Felton. I am not sure which one will go with the one I am selling, but one of these will be available.
I still have the interchangeable leadpipe receiver collar and the large leadpipe. I have used the solo leadpipe and a PT-64s. I now use an RT-64, and the pitch is much better. The shank size is subtle, but differences seem to be significant.
It comes with a great gig bag. Located in Indianapolis. Email for pics or remind me how to get them from my phone to this ad.
Akniffen@aol.com
4 piston, 1 rotor
0.7 mm guage
$15,400.00
I chose this tuba from two at the Midwest Clinic (convention) in December of 2023. There was another Adams F that was privately owned, and I think the one I chose was the best of the three. The alignment of most of the slides was, frankly, a little off, but the work was done well, and the horn played noticeably better afterwards.
Richard White recommended I move the leadpipe up the bell for response reasons, which I had done, and made it a fixed leadpipe on the bell side, left the knuckle on the vavle side alone, and had the heavy-duty collar on the removable leadipe removed. For whatever reason, the tuba played even better, though the ergonomics are a little odd. That is all reversible.
On all my previous rotor F tubas I owned, I have raised the height and angle of the leadpipe without actually having the leadpipe bent. It can be unsoldered, rotated, and re-installed as you will see here on the Adams, if I can get pictures on here or send them, as well as on my JBL, which I am selling in another ad. Not the best thing for the horn cosmetically, especially lacquered tubas, but the first time I did this to my first F tuba (1987 with a PR-10), the stabbing pain above my right scapula disappeared. It helped a lot and can be easily reversed.
To be frank, I am no expert, but I find the pitch on most piston F tubas to be more difficult than the B&S rotor tubas I have owned. The Adams is the best of the ones I’ve tried, but it is not perfect. It has taken some getting used to, but it has worked very well in solo and quintet settings – people don’t complain to me about the pitch, even when I ask.
It projects very well. The color fits in very well. The reception I have gotten from quintets and people in the audience for solos has been very positive. I have had almost no opportunity to play it in orchestra – I feel somewhat jinxed in my job because we rarely play anything that needs F tuba and space on stage is at a minimum. I used it on a Star Wars movie last season for a lick that stayed up there and had a high Bb in it. The horn has a high Bb, but it’s not the best horn for that note. My new Adams F is better on that. The main reason I bought the tuba in the first place is because I was approaching a performance run of the Marsalis concerto and my JBL wasn’t going to match well with the piece, the Petrouchka I had was good, but not as good as the Adams. It made the Marsalis believable for me. It saved my butt. It’s a great tuba.
I am selling it because I bought a thinner-gauge Adams F tuba. After having a piston F tuba that works well for a few years now I want to use it as my main F tuba. But because Richard White kept telling me to try the Adams F in 0.6mm gauge, which I did, and liked it even more, I bought one about a month ago. I don’t need two Adams F tubas.
To match A440 instead of Euro pitch, I have a longer tuning slide from the factory and one made by the previous owner of my newer Adams F, Joseph Felton. I am not sure which one will go with the one I am selling, but one of these will be available.
I still have the interchangeable leadpipe receiver collar and the large leadpipe. I have used the solo leadpipe and a PT-64s. I now use an RT-64, and the pitch is much better. The shank size is subtle, but differences seem to be significant.
It comes with a great gig bag. Located in Indianapolis. Email for pics or remind me how to get them from my phone to this ad.
Akniffen@aol.com