F Tuba

Himes · Post by **Himes** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:37 pm

Greetings everyone,

In the next couple months, I will be looking to acquire an F tuba. I have a great CC, but need to supplement it with a bass tuba for solos, quintet gigs, and high orchestral playing. Since this will be my first bass tuba, I am using the next few months as a time to do some research, play some horns, and generally try to find out what I like in bass tuba.

So... as part of this research I am just inquiring what you all use for your quintet, solo, and high orchestra gigs. If you have a particular reason for loving your horn (great low C, unbelievable tone, etc, etc) feel free to state that too.

Thanks a lot!

Himes

Himes · Post by **Himes** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:37 pm

One more thing: I am an undergraduate student who is looking to go to grad school and, someday, play for a living.

smyoung · Post by **smyoung** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:20 pm

Thanks for asking this, Himes. I'm in pretty much the same situation as you are - undergrad, thinking about getting an F for the first time, etc... although I'll be using the next few/several/many months to also save money to get one. So, ditto on the question. I'm interested in what everyone has to say.

SY

imperialbari · Post by **imperialbari** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:34 pm

You pose a very open question. If you narrowed it down, your selection process would get easier.

Do you want an F tuba with similar or contrasting qualities to your CC? (What kind of CC do you play?) That is about rotors versus pistons and largish versus smallish.

Has it to be an F? Some players hunting for an F have ended up with an Eb.

What is more important for you, the solo aspect of the quintet aspect?

Do you know where your studies will continue? Have you made yourself acquainted with the ideas of the teacher at that school?

Klaus

Himes · Post by **Himes** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:30 pm

Well, I left it open on purpose: while I will ultimately make my own decision, in conjunction with my teacher, based on what I like the best, I wanted to get an unadulterated opinion of what other people like.

However, since I am being prompted...

I currently play a Rusk-cut York 6/4 CC. If I could get an F that is exactly like it but proportionately smaller, I'd jump on it in an instant. I generally like larger, resonant horns with piston valves. That said, I am willing to try/test other horns with any kind of quality (smaller, rotors, etc) at this point. Not having that much experience with F tubas, my opinions of what is good for me is not well developed.

I would like an F, not an Eb.

The quintet aspect is more important to me, although I will certainly be using this tuba for solo playing as well.

At this point, I do not know where my studies will continue. If, down the road, I am with a teacher who changes my taste in horns (from the horn that I will presumably buy in the near future), then I will sell that horn and buy another.

Thanks again!

ztuba · Post by **ztuba** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:59 pm

don't rule out Eb tubas ... that new baadsvik model is awesome. and the sheridan eb from besson is great too

Kevin Hendrick · Post by **Kevin Hendrick** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:09 am

Himes wrote:I currently play a Rusk-cut York 6/4 CC. If I could get an F that is exactly like it but proportionately smaller, I'd jump on it in an instant. I generally like larger, resonant horns with piston valves.

Bob Rusk has cut some York Ebs to Fs, with good results (from what I've heard) -- you might want to see if there are any available used and/or contact Bob to see if he can help (don't know if he's still doing new conversions -- couldn't hurt to ask).

Edit: I see you found the one in the For Sale section ...

Wyvern · Post by **Wyvern** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:52 am

I would have thought if you mainly want for quintet use then an Eb would be better as they generally have more solid low registers. Also the tonal gap between a 6/4 C and an F is huge.

Check out the M-W 2040/5, or if you prefer pistons the 2141. Having said all that if you are fixed on F, the B&S PT-15 is worth investigating!

Himes · Post by **Himes** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 8:34 am

Thanks everyone! These suggestions are just the sort of thing I'm looking for. And, yeah - feel free to include your Eb suggestions. No reason for me not to try them, really. And if I end up with an F, my knowledge of the tuba world will just be expanded I suppose.

MikeMason · Post by **MikeMason** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:31 am

for a first f,i think the yamahas are a good choice.they work.when you develop more experience and specific taste,you can always trade.

tubafatness · Post by **tubafatness** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:41 am

Himes wrote: I generally like larger, resonant horns with piston valves.

I second the suggestion above for a MW 45-SLP. For that matter, the SLZ is also a great horn, if you can tolerate rotary valves.
I think the MW 2182 is also worth looking at. It might be smaller than what you are looking for, but it's a solid horn regardless.
If you have the bucks, you could check out the Hirsbrunner F tubas. I know the people who actually own and play them regularly seem to be very satisfied.
People seem to have a high opinion of the Miraphone piston F that's coming out, although I don't know if that many of them are available at this moment.

If you're used to the York configuration of valve slides, you would be comfortable with the Meinl Weston horns, (both of which follow the same pattern.) But, as always, the key is to try a lot of horns before you buy.

Aaron

tubashaman2 · Post by **tubashaman2** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:59 am

Jonathan Fowler · Post by **Jonathan Fowler** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:16 am

As long as you know that with any decision you make, you will be making a sacrifice. As an example, my Alex 155 has a sound that I love and a dynamite high range. Since my opinion is that these are the most important characteristics in order for an F tuba to be desirable, the fact that the low B, Bb and C are a bit tricky is a reasonable trade off.

You need to find out which horns do the things that you deem "very important" very well. And on the other hand, which characteristics you're willing to deal with.

I've always thought F was for solos, high orchestra stuff and some quintets. Thus, sound and high range are of paramount importance to me.

Good luck,

Jon Fowler
Instructor of Tuba/Euphonium
West Chester University of Pennsylvania

jonesbrass · Post by **jonesbrass** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:00 pm

I don't know how much you're looking to spend, but the Cerveny 653-5 is a whole lot of horn for the buck. You won't get snob factor, but you will get a really solid, playable horn that's great to learn on and will probably last you a lot past then without breaking the bank.

Nick Pierce · Post by **Nick Pierce** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:12 pm

Himes wrote: I currently play a Rusk-cut York 6/4 CC. If I could get an F that is exactly like it but proportionately smaller, I'd jump on it in an instant.

Well...

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31380

Close enough?

On trial now though, unfortunately. Or are you the one trialing it?

TubeNet

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