Going to be buying a horn. Input, please.

[king2ba]

Go for the JZ from Baltimore Brass. Dave Fedderly is a great guy to deal with and the JZ instrument is a great player and a fantastic price. You can't go wrong for what you are looking for.

My $.03

[TUBAD83]

"Doc" Strangelove,

You picked a good time to get a tuba--there is a good selection of tubas to choose from that will fit your budget and meet your needs well.

First off, from one BBb player to another, unless you have an overwhelming desire to learn CC fingerings, I would recommend you stick to BBb horns.

25Js are great instruments but they are BIG (31 lbs) and bulky. If you don't mind dealing with something that big on a regular basis, go for it. The Schiller is a very good horn (I had owned one previously and it performed VERY well) and definitely recommend it. Dillon Music sells a house brand BBb (a MW 25 copy I believe) that is well regarded--check out their website and give them a call. Also check out M&M's website...nice horns there.

JJ

[imperialbari]

The tuba bloke tells about will give you a real instrument by a traditional German maker. The only question I would ask out of curiosity was what the redoing of the linkage implied: optimizing the tolerances of the S-links and double-T joints or an exchange to mini-balls? Either would work well.

I have several smaller brasses out of the Markneukirchen works formerly conglomerated into B&S. I like these, but when it comes to tubas piston basses fit my sound concept better. Fellow Dane AND TubeNetter Søren brought home and old King 2341(?) with bell front and 4 front action pistons from a visit in the US during the spring of 2008. I have played that tuba and was very impressed by its immense playability for comparatively few $$. That King doesn’t quite have the intense projection and weight of sound that my Conn 40K has, but then it is much lighter and much less bulky than the 40K.

If I had a Tuba Tamer, and a bigger home, I would like to have a Conn 25J, but this fine model certainly is not the middle of the road instrument that the Sonora or the King would. Only in sense that the 25J would demand you to have a truck, which would occupy the middle of any smaller road.

Klaus

[bearphonium]

I'd jump on the horn that Bloke's got. The 25J is a beast to haul around.

[Waltski]

Check Dan Oberloh's website. He has an Amati/Cerveny that you might like in your price range...
http://www.oberloh.com

[andrew the tuba player]

Hey guys. I guess it is my 25j you're talking about. I'm sorry but It appears that i have sold it. I will go ahead and say that yes it is a great horn, but of course with a horn this size, be ready to haul it around. You will need a truck or good size car. And, the playing differences between it and a 186 would most likely be alot. I have never played a BBb 186, but i have played several german style BBb (yamaha 641) and they play alot different. You will need alot of lung and lip power. I know we i went from the miraphone 186 5uc and the Kalison DS that my endurance dropped by a long shot. It takes a lot of muscle to operate. But the sound is huge and its a joy to play. One thing is, when playing a horn with short actions i have found it is easy to get a muddy sound. I know that a lot of it comes from the size too, but even on my school's 20k sousaphone it seems to happen so you have to be very precise. Happy hunting. My two cents is to watch ebay. I just picked up a brand new conn 52j for $3500 a few months back, and i have seen a few 186s on there if thats what you're looking for, although I'm not sure of the price because i was focusing on CCs.

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Check Dan Oberloh's website. He has an Amati/Cerveny that you might like in your price range...
http://www.oberloh.com

Sorry, but both the Amati and Mirafone instruments went out the door this weekend.

Dan

[MartyNeilan]

I wouldn't want to wish buying a bassoon on anyone. I took a few lessons and considered a purchase myself, then I found it was cheaper to consider tubas.

When I did my music ed degree, I had to learn ALL the traditional band and orchestral instruments, including double reeds. Some (flute) were harder than others, some (alto and tenor sax) were just "ketchup", others (oboe, french horn, cello) were rewarding to play, and a few (most anything in percussion) were just downright fun.
The instrument that I absolutely disliked the most, from every possible standpoint, was the bassoon.
P.S. who wants to play an instrument with a "whisper key" on it?

[UTSAtuba]

I wouldn't want to wish buying a bassoon on anyone. I took a few lessons and considered a purchase myself, then I found it was cheaper to consider tubas.

When I did my music ed degree, I had to learn ALL the traditional band and orchestral instruments, including double reeds. Some (flute) were harder than others, some (alto and tenor sax) were just "ketchup", others (oboe, french horn, cello) were rewarding to play, and a few (most anything in percussion) were just downright fun.
The instrument that I absolutely disliked the most, from every possible standpoint, was the bassoon.
P.S. who wants to play an instrument with a "whisper key" on it?

+1

Joseph "having been there myself" Guzman

[Uncle Buck]

I wouldn't want to wish buying a bassoon on anyone. I took a few lessons and considered a purchase myself, then I found it was cheaper to consider tubas.

When I did my music ed degree, I had to learn ALL the traditional band and orchestral instruments, including double reeds. Some (flute) were harder than others, some (alto and tenor sax) were just "ketchup", others (oboe, french horn, cello) were rewarding to play, and a few (most anything in percussion) were just downright fun.
The instrument that I absolutely disliked the most, from every possible standpoint, was the bassoon.
P.S. who wants to play an instrument with a "whisper key" on it?

+1

Joseph "having been there myself" Guzman

My experience was very different. In woodwind workshop, I struggled through clarinet and sax, thinking at that point the worst was over. Then flute - an absolute disaster. Flute was the only instrument where I honestly, after tons of practice time, wasn't sure whether I'd be able to pass.

After flute, oboe was a breeze, and basson was actually fun.

[Phil Dawson]

I owned a Sonora horn for many years. It played very well in the traditional German manner. The valve linkage was a ball and socket design that really wasn't the greatest although it held up pretty well for me. Replacement linkage would be a definite plus. I would recommend playing it before finalizing the deal but I would go for it. Nice easy blowing horn with quite good intonation.
Good Luck, Phil

[andrew the tuba player]

hey guys. just wanted to tell you that the sale on the horn fell through, so if you still want to consider the 25j it's up for grabs. $2000 plus around $180 shipping (depending on location).

[saktoons]

Wow. This all sounds familiar to me. I, too, am a professional who had taken 21 years off before I picked up a tuba again. Here is some advice from one who has been there.

Play the tuba before buying. I bought a VMI 2103 from WWBW over the phone (without playing it). Although I got a good horn, I was lucky. If I had it to do all over again, I would have built up my chops first, and then gone out searching for a used tuba to play.

Don't be scared of a used horn. I rented a used Besson with a recording bell for outdoor gigs for a couple of years. If the owner had wanted to sell it, I would have bought it. I loved this horn. I often thought that I should have looked harder at borrowing or renting a horn first, as I built up my chops. I am happy with what I have and how I got here, but I should have been smarter.

Talk to the tuba players in a local community band. I played in a band for a couple of years where one of the tuba players seemed to be connected to anyone in the area who was selling a tuba. I played a bunch of really nice tubas, with some intention of buying provided the price was right, just by hooking up with this guy for a few years. (I had a lot of fun, also. Too bad he moved out of the area!)

Have fun!

[MaryAnn]

All the bassoon commentary got me chuckling....when I decided to take up a new instrument due to the dystonia problems on brasses, my first choice was bassoon (because, obviously, I like playing low.) I bought one on ebay, but the guy sent the wrong instrument, a different brand. Well...I found that I simply could not reach one of the necessary positions with my left hand, and ended up sending it back for a total refund.

Then I went after oboe, and after struggling with a bad instrument for a few months, lucked into a pro model that is wonderful. After that....I tried a different brand of bassoon and was able to reach it easily. But after I learned more about bassoon, I was doing the big "whew" that my intial foray had worked out badly. No way I want to play that nightmare of an instrument!! For *me,* oboe is just not that hard; the main thing is coordinating the fingerings. For the first time in my life, I have a wonderful teacher, and having someone who knows how to adjust an instrument, is an expert reed maker, and can actually teach, oboe does not need the reputation of extreme difficulty that it has.

Good luck on the tuba...I'm sure you'll find the right one. I always vote for Bloke's recommendations because he does not lie.

MA