A Consumers Guide to Tubas

[pianolance]

I know that from time to time, people on this bulletin board ask about instrument comparisons. I have searched the internet, and I know most of you have too, to find comparative information on different tubas and the information available is less than satisfying. So, I have begun a quest for the ultimate tuba resource book – sort of a Consumers Guide to tubas. It’s an ambitious undertaking as I have identified about 50 different manufacturers as of now and I am sure that there are more that I don’t know about. This is where you come in, because a project of this size can’t really be done without help from lots of people. I am in the process of contacting manufacturers now to try to garner their cooperation. Since I live in middle Tennessee, I am trying to negotiate with Tennessee Tech to get their help on this project. As a first step, I am going to try to build a comprehensive list of tuba manufacturers. This is what I have so far. (Are you ready for a l-o-n-g list?)
1. Alexander – Germany
2. Amati – Check Replblic
3. B&S Parantucci – Germany
4. Bach
5. Besson – UK
6. Bohm and Meinl (B&M) Germany?
7. Cerveny (Musica)
8. Courtois – France
9. Coussnon – France
10. Custom Music Company Educational Series (Saunders) - ?
11. Dalyan – China
12. DEG – USA
13. Dynasty (Marching Brass?)
14. EM Winston
15. Getzen – USA (I believe Getzen imports from Meinl-Weston)
16. Glassl
17. Gronitz – Germany
18. Hirshbrunner – Switzerland
19. Holton – USA
20. Huttl
21. Jupiter – Taiwan
22. JZ
23. Kalison – Italy
24. Kanstul – USA
25. King – USA
26. Manchester Brass?
27. Martin
28. Marzan
29. Meinl-Weston/Melton – Germany
30. Miraphone – Germany
31. Musica (Cervney)
32. New York Symphonic?
33. Olds – USA
34. Reynolds – USA
35. Roland Meinl
36. Rudolph Meinl – Germany
37. Schneider
38. Selman, Seldan, Perfect, Xing Han, Blue-Sky, Century (all China)
39. St Petersburg – Russia?
40. Sterling
41. V.M.I.- Germany
42. Weril – Brazil
43. Willson – Switzerland
44. Wurlitzer?
45. Yamaha – Japan
46. York

What I need from you is any further information you can give me about the background of any of these companies (brief please – not the entire 150 year history), their location, websites, if they are still making tubas or tubas are being made for them by another company (stencil), or even if they are still in business or at least the business of making tubas (Wurlitzer?). What other brands are currently available that you know about but are not on this list, etc.

My ultimate goal is to actually play test each of these tubas, not necessarily myself, but to have them play tested by tubists, scored on an objective scale and all of that information compiled in a book. Sort of the Mega Ultimate Tuba Shootout.

Please reply to my email at pianolance@gmail.com with any helpful info. I anticipate this project taking at least a couple of years and I am going to need all the help I can get, but what an exciting prospect to have a central clearing house of specifications, playing qualities, etc of every tuba made by every manufacturer. Who knows, we might have so much fun that we won’t be able to stop at tubas and might move on to Euphoniums, Trombones, Trumpets, etc. Again, thanks in advance because I know this list is an amazing resource and the collective knowledge found here is staggering.

[SplatterTone]

I'll go out on a limb here and conjecture that the collective knowledge will suggest that this is a little like finding the best route to ride up Mount Everest on a unicycle.

[pianolance]

Really, a unicycle up Mt Everest is a very bad idea - now a unicylce DOWN Mt Everest is something else all together:)

[Pete Link]

I know that from time to time, people on this bulletin board ask about instrument comparisons. I have searched the internet, and I know most of you have too, to find comparative information on different tubas and the information available is less than satisfying. So, I have begun a quest for the ultimate tuba resource book – sort of a Consumers Guide to tubas. It’s an ambitious undertaking as I have identified about 50 different manufacturers as of now and I am sure that there are more that I don’t know about. This is where you come in, because a project of this size can’t really be done without help from lots of people. I am in the process of contacting manufacturers now to try to garner their cooperation. Since I live in middle Tennessee, I am trying to negotiate with Tennessee Tech to get their help on this project. As a first step, I am going to try to build a comprehensive list of tuba manufacturers. This is what I have so far. (Are you ready for a l-o-n-g list?)
1. Alexander – Germany
2. Amati – Check Replblic
3. B&S Parantucci – Germany
4. Bach
5. Besson – UK
6. Bohm and Meinl (B&M) Germany?
7. Cerveny (Musica)
8. Courtois – France
9. Coussnon – France
10. Custom Music Company Educational Series (Saunders) - ?
11. Dalyan – China
12. DEG – USA
13. Dynasty (Marching Brass?)
14. EM Winston
15. Getzen – USA (I believe Getzen imports from Meinl-Weston)
16. Glassl
17. Gronitz – Germany
18. Hirshbrunner – Switzerland
19. Holton – USA
20. Huttl
21. Jupiter – Taiwan
22. JZ
23. Kalison – Italy
24. Kanstul – USA
25. King – USA
26. Manchester Brass?
27. Martin
28. Marzan
29. Meinl-Weston/Melton – Germany
30. Miraphone – Germany
31. Musica (Cervney)
32. New York Symphonic?
33. Olds – USA
34. Reynolds – USA
35. Roland Meinl
36. Rudolph Meinl – Germany
37. Schneider
38. Selman, Seldan, Perfect, Xing Han, Blue-Sky, Century (all China)
39. St Petersburg – Russia?
40. Sterling
41. V.M.I.- Germany
42. Weril – Brazil
43. Willson – Switzerland
44. Wurlitzer?
45. Yamaha – Japan
46. York

What I need from you is any further information you can give me about the background of any of these companies (brief please – not the entire 150 year history), their location, websites, if they are still making tubas or tubas are being made for them by another company (stencil), or even if they are still in business or at least the business of making tubas (Wurlitzer?). What other brands are currently available that you know about but are not on this list, etc.

My ultimate goal is to actually play test each of these tubas, not necessarily myself, but to have them play tested by tubists, scored on an objective scale and all of that information compiled in a book. Sort of the Mega Ultimate Tuba Shootout.

Please reply to my email at pianolance@gmail.com with any helpful info. I anticipate this project taking at least a couple of years and I am going to need all the help I can get, but what an exciting prospect to have a central clearing house of specifications, playing qualities, etc of every tuba made by every manufacturer. Who knows, we might have so much fun that we won’t be able to stop at tubas and might move on to Euphoniums, Trombones, Trumpets, etc. Again, thanks in advance because I know this list is an amazing resource and the collective knowledge found here is staggering.

Just some additions that came to mind quickly. I'm sure there may be more but at any rate here ya go.

Diston
Sanders
Graslitz (sp)
Walter Nirschl
Thein
Conn

Pete

Code: Select all

[pianolance]

Conn! Boy do I have a red face. How could I not think of Conn! That's why I need all the help I can get. Thanks.

[Tubaryan12]

Boy do I have a red face. That's why I need all the help I can get. Thanks.

I feel just as bad. I read the list trying to think of missing ones and didn't think "Conn"

[Bandmaster]

If you are going to include all the old time tuba makers who's horns are still in use, then you need to include:

Boosey & Hawkes - England
Keefer
Lyon & Healy
Mahillon
Melton
Salvationist (Salvation Army) - England

and some of the newer over-seas manufacturers
Allora
Jin Bao - China

[Dan Schultz]

Do you plan to list the names along with the modern location of manufacture? Example...

Besson was England. Now it's Meinl for the good horns and somewhere in India for the student lines.

Sanders was originally European and then went to China.

Lord only know EXACTLY where all the parts come from!

[iiipopes]

And then there's the Besson family tree: Besson & Co., Hawkes & Co., Distin, Boosey & Hawkes, and I think a couple more that were just subsumed in the process.

And then there are the revived brands: Olds is now a nameplate for another company, not the original F. E. Olds Company of California, and Besson is now a revival by Buffet-Crampon.

Then there are the stencils/store brands, with sometimes the same "brand" of horn being made by totally different factories.

Does your family genetic pattern seem to indicate a penchant for the longitivity needed to make any significant dent (pun intended) in the proposed task?

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Here are a few more if you are also looking at the more obscure.

Bohland and Fuchs
Buescher
Pan American (Conn)
American Standard
Ohio Band Instrument Co.
Roth
Elkhart Band Instrument Co.
Weltklang (B&S)
Sonora (B&S)
L'Rae (B&S)
Crown (B&S)
Lidl
Boosey and Hawks
LaFleur (GDR) B&S?
B&S Sanders
Canadian Brass
Tolstar(B&S)
Karl Zeiss (Cerveny)
Karl Zeiss (B&S)
Orsie (sp)
Mahillon
Ed Kruspe (Erfurt germany)
Knoph
Kaemph (NY)
Knoph

I can probably go on but I see no real point to it.


Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
Seattle, WA

www.oberloh.com

[iiipopes]

Grand Rapids Instrument Company (York)
H. B. Jay Co.
J. W. Pepper & Co.
Isaac Fiske

[pianolance]

I know this is a huge undertaking but what ever information I could assemble - even if it's not exhaustive, would be much better than what's out there now. Of course any review would be subjective, but if any of you have read the Piano Book by Larry Fine you realize that it can and has been done before. How much objectivity does it take to conclude that a Steinway is a much better piano than a Pearl River? What I am trying to achieve is a general consumers guide, not a complete thourough review of every minute detail of every tuba. I think it can be done. I will say that Larry Fine didn't have the help of such an illustrious group such as this. Even though Larry doesn't have every model of every manufacturer listed, his information is extremely helpful to a piano buyer. Are you with me?

[Dan Schultz]

I know this is a huge undertaking but what ever information I could assemble - even if it's not exhaustive, would be much better than what's out there now. ...

I agree with you. Go for it. The TubeNet is sure to be your most valuable resource for collecting informaiton. Maybe Sean will add the list somewhere on his site.

[GC]

If you're talking antiques, there's Fillmore Bros Co, Boston Brass, and Hall & Quimby.

[jonesbrass]

Don't forget Kiefer- made some very good instruments earlier in the 20th century. Also, Germany has more "brands" (Gerhard Schnieder, Elaton, etc.) than you can shake a stick at- you might be better listing the stencils under the factory that actually makes them. Just a thought.

[Dylan King]

I would like to know the exact measurements of the spit-valve corks on every tuba ever made.

[pianolance]

I would like to know the exact measurements of the spit-valve corks on every tuba ever made.

I can't begin to give you the sizes but I can easily give you the relative humidity of each one.

[Mike Finn]

Has anyone mentioned Lehnert yet? He made those neat "toilet seat" tubas (and other brasses).
MF

[bububassboner]

One I saw at All-state was accent brass. Just tryin to help.

[Søren]

This is great!

I have needed this kind of list a lot of times. Specially the different names used by a manufactuer. Like Weltklang is B&S made and so on.

I will ad that in denmark B&S made horns was imported with the name "FORZA" on the bell