Tiny Tuba

[Cameron Gates]

I knew this day would come. Now, build a SMALLER F and keep it $1200. I'm already in line.

[The Big Ben]

Wonder if it's just a small horn or if it actually sounds good. Amati has a 'children's tuba' just a little bit larger than this.

[bisontuba]

HI-
Pretty nifty--esp. at that price!
Let's see-$6895 for a German 4 rotary travel F tuba (.610 bore, 8.66" det. bell, & 20 1/4" high) or $1200 for a Chinese 4 rotary travel (or kids) BBb tuba (.590 bore, 11 1/2" bell, & 24" high)--wow!! I am also told this horn plays very nice-amazing.
mark

[Bob Kolada]

The 1st valve looks very, very short.

[Dan Schultz]

I spoke to the source. These tubas are selling very well in Europe and the price most likely will not remain that low. Get 'em while they're hot!

[Bob Kolada]

What would the application be for a tuba this small - other than buying a shiny new $1680 tuba that perfectly fits your budding 6 year old musician?

To put in the bell of your 28J.

[Cameron Gates]

"Plays great , if you want a instrument on the high notes , above the staff to play Pictures at an Exhibition with out a problem this is it"

I love this statement.

[tbn.al]

Hmmmmm.......Key of Bb with a Euph bore and bell diameter. I wonder how long it is from MP to bell?

[The Big Ben]

What would the application be for a tuba this small - other than buying a shiny new $1680 tuba that perfectly fits your budding 6 year old musician?

To put in the bell of your 28J.

Or you could hang it off the back of a Yorkbrunner et. al.. Kind of like a yacht has a dingy....

Jeff "Ahoy, mate!" Benedict

[cjk]

Cut it to CC (?)

There's a double loop in the main tuning slide....

[sugawi]

Hmmmmm.......Key of Bb with a Euph bore and bell diameter. I wonder how long it is from MP to bell?

This is a valid question.
The answer is 9ft. This IS euphonium. I saw similar looking horn not long ago made by Jinbao. They call it children's tuba, but it's just an euphonium/baritone.

Even seller stated: "if you want a instrument on the high notes, above the staff to play..."

I'm pretty sure that Jinbao manufactures horns for M&M. The looks and numbering of M&M and Jinbao are the same.

[sugawi]

The seller will not answer my question about the length (18ft vs. 9ft) of the instrument. Here is his response:
"This is a wonderful playing instrument , even though we designed it for a small person, Bb not BBb , will play with a large tone as a $5000.00 Euphioum"

So my conclusion it is 9ft.

Furthermore, I can't see from the picture that there would be extra 6ft of length compared to F travel tuba:

[Bob Kolada]

Way to go, people-that-were-drooling-all-over-the-supposed-mini-contrabass-tuba...


I wonder how it actually plays?

[Wyvern]

I wonder how it actually plays?

Suspect! I would not buy without trying first

The Meinl-Weston travel tuba is expensive, but at least does play well - surprisingly well

[Bob Kolada]

I didn't care for the MW mini-F. It was very awkward to hold (it seemed like the receiver was at a very odd angle) and I still don't think they're worth 6000.

[Wyvern]

I reckon the travel tuba was designed by a middle age bloke with a bit of a belly. For me that is where it sat, but I can see that would not work for a big slim chap like you Bob!

[The Big Ben]

If it is a new tuba model it should turn up at Frankfurt music fair in a few weeks,shouldn´t it ??

If you're going there, look for it and play it if you can. Let us all know if you do.

I think M&M is distributed out of Florida here in the States so I don't know if they would cross The Pond to peddle their bargain wares.

[The Big Ben]

it may be distributed by M&M in your country,of course,but how often does the same chocolate bar turn up in different wrapping ????


this one is very much likely of chinese origination.................

Oh, I would agree with you there, Kurt.... Keep your eyes open when you go to the show and, if you see one, tell us how it works!

[sugawi]

Some poor soul already placed a bid on it...

[pgym]

The seller will not answer my question about the length (18ft vs. 9ft) of the instrument. Here is his response:
"This is a wonderful playing instrument , even though we designed it for a small person, Bb not BBb , will play with a large tone as a $5000.00 Euphioum"

So my conclusion it is 9ft.

If this is the horn M&M had at TUSABTEC, it's 9'.

My first thought when I saw it was, "Hey! a M-W travel tuba clone!"

First clue that it wasn't a tuba was my large shank euph mpc fit the receiver.

Second clue was that it got stuffy on the Eb one line below the staff and got worse as I went down from there.

Third clue was I couldn't get anything below pedal E (octave below the staff) to so much as peep, much less speak.

So it ain't a BBb tuba, but overall, it's not a bad non-compensating euph: pretty free-blowing from bottom of staff F through F an octave above the staff; started to get stuffy at D below the staff: below that, nothing; slotting from F# above the staff on up was a bit spotty, but that could have been operator error. Intonation was decent, with nothing unmanageable (unlike the Kanstul euphs, which were anywhere from 19-31 cents sharp on the 3rd and 6th partials).

At ~$1200, I could see a potential market for doublers who prefer rotary valves to pistons; beyond that, I don't see much of a market. For better or worse, the euph world has largely abandoned the valve front configuration in favor of the 3+1 or 4-top, and the ergonomics of the thing are just different enough from 4-front piston valves that I don't see it appealing to euphers who prefer valve-front euphs.

But, hey, I'll give 'em credit for trying something different.