Perhaps the wrong place for this topic but since it may turn into a trade somewhere down the line, I thought I'd post here. I currently play a HB 12 4/4 F tuba. As an older guy I've always avoided this switch to Eb but the more I mull this over, I'm thinking the change might be a good thing.
My horn has a pretty good low C but not as good as an Eb. Would some you that have made this switch please offer some insight? Did you fight fingerings for a long time? If you had it to do over, would you still switch?
I started learning Eb after I turned 40 and it was very challenging. Unfortunately for me, I was in my mid 30' when I learned F and 40 when I started to learn CC. That of course isn't a very good way to do it.
That being said, I do belief that Eb is the most versatile for solo and small ensemble playing. (The contra Bass tuba could be used mostly for large ensemble playing.)
i just switched over to Eb last november after 4 years of F playing. I'm in Grad school right now. It was a headache for a little bit to switch over to a new set of fingerings and switching around how to play certain notes. But Eb is a very good solo/small ensemble horn. Sounds great in a quintet. At least as far as my opinion goes.
Rudy Meinl-RM 45 CC
Besson 983 Eb
"A pinhole in a trumpet makes the instrument unplayable. A bullet hole in a tuba is never noticed."
I started on Eb 64 years ago, spent 4 years on that, switched to BBb for 40+ year and picked up an F and then went back to Eb/BBb and finally got a CC 5 years ago. I use them all in Orchestra work but, if I had to settle for one horn it would be difficult and the choice would be between a M/W 182 and a WIllson 3400. As I age, I am more an more comfortable with the 182 because of its weight (or lack). The low register is not a problem on either Bass tuba but I spent several years (yes, YEARS ) working on low register studies to develop a decent low register on either bass tuba. I also learned to use a deep bowl mouthpiece on either but I use a fairly narrow rim (30.5 mm). I still take out the contrabass tubas, from tine to time but not because I want more volume or "depth" of sound. Mostly it happens when I have used a contrabass before on the particular piece of music.
Always make a good sound; audiences will forget if you miss a note but making a good sound will get you the next job.
I will go out on a limb and say that, for an older person, learning Eb tuba fingerings is like learning a foreign language, it's more difficult with age (brain plasticity). I did switch to Eb for quintet for a while. After one concert the horn player said I was playing three different fingerings for any note I produced. I played it for ten years before I went back to F.
With the options in tubas now, I agree with TheHat, you can find an F or Eb that will do what you want. Stick with F but maybe you need a tuba with a more favorable low range.
City Intonation Inspector - Dallas Texas "Holding the Bordognian Fabric of the Universe together through better pitch, one note at a time."
Practicing results in increased atmospheric CO2 thus causing global warming.
