CC Tuba Buying Tips/Suggestions

[jkebyr]

Hi, I'm a senior in high school, and I just finished my last college audition yesterday. So, I'm beginning the search for a CC tuba to use in college, and hopefully after, and I was wondering what you guys would suggest in terms of brands, sizes, etc., as well as general buying tips. Thanks so much!

[jkebyr]

The budget would be between $8K and $12K, and I know it may depend on the teacher, but really I just want to get an idea of what's out there. Not to mention, I want to buy a tuba because I like it, not because my teacher does. That said, I want to make an informed decision and have some options in mind.

[jkebyr]

I have talked with my private teacher and he suggested some brands. B&S and Meinl Weston both looked like they have some quality tubas, among others. I would definitely go with a 5/4 tuba assuming it's a decent price. Really I don't want to get overly caught up on brand as long as it's a well made tuba and it has a good, comfortable sound. Obviously, good sound comes from practice anyways, but a high quality instrument sure doesn't hurt.

[ghmerrill]

Ignore Tubenet.

But don't ignore what Curmudgeon told you about ignoring Tubenet just because he said that on Tubenet.

Also, if you're going to school in Germany, you might want to consider a BBb instead of a CC.

[Bombardonier]

PT6-P...and that a from a euph player...make sure consistent with teacher!

[swillafew]

Take your time, and do a lot of shopping. You will be surprised at how much more you will know a year from now.

[jkebyr]

I should probably mention that I have been taking a look at tubas for the past year or so. I just wasn't ready to start the search in it's entirety until now since I always was preparing something on the BBb tuba. I'm continuing to talk with my teacher and potential future teachers about what I should get, but I would like to have it before college so I can get the feel for it. Mostly, what I see on here will give me some leads on what I might consider buying, but it's not the deciding factor in what I choose.

[ScottM]

If you can make ITEC at the Indiana University you would have a chance to play a lot of horns. If your future prof, is there he could listen and help you make an informed decision. Even if he isn't there, it might make it possible to narrow the choices. You also might find a really good used horn and then could save your money for the purchase of an f tuba later.
Good luck and have fun. Remember buying a tuba is not a marriage, though hopefully with a good first pick, it could be a nice long term relationship.
ScottM

[royjohn]

jkebyr,

I don't think you yet have any idea how arbitrary and capricious academia can be. There are great tuba teachers who can be very nice to you if they like you and your music and your decisions and very, very helpful to you in the future (do you catch my drift?) while being very, very picky about certain things, one of which could be the tuba and mouthpiece you play. While other undergrads have the luxury of picking and choosing courses and professors they like and ditching the ones they don't, I don't think there are many tuba programs where your teacher will not exercise a very significant influence over how your academic career goes.

Without knowing who you're going to be studying with and what they're going to like and how tolerant they are going to be, if you buy a CC tuba before getting an acceptance and talking to your teacher, you ought to be sure that it will retain it's value and that you can easily sell it quickly enough to get something else if you need to do that. Worst case scenario would be to buy a CC new and have to play it for several months before changing, thus taking the full hit on new to used prices. This could cost you a grand or two that could be better spent on something else.

College is not going to be about doing what you want to do, it is going to be about cooperating, collaborating and just plain obeying, so you ought to start learning how to do that now.

If you want to have as much of your cake as you can and eat it too, decide on a school, meet the prof. who will be your teacher, and take some lessons from him (you should be thinking about doing this before accepting a college anyway) and get his input into your tuba purchase. Then you can buy the tuba well before you enroll in school and practice on it all summer. You might ignore your prof's suggestions for a tuba, but you'd do so at your own risk. If you buy something he doesn't like, he might overlook it, but he might not. You need to be asking yourself what kind of teacher you want to work with, someone tolerant and helpful or someone who is a great musician, but maybe a little (or a lot) dictatorial . . . .

[swillafew]

College is not going to be about doing what you want to do, it is going to be about cooperating, collaborating and just plain obeying, so you ought to start learning how to do that now.

That's a great comment!

[jkebyr]

Okay, thank you! I sent an E-mail to the professor at my first choice school, who strongly implied I'd be getting accepted at the audition. I asked him what he thought would be a good choice. Also, I like how he teaches. It's really down to earth and relaxed but still really detailed work, which I like.

[padgman1]

If you can make ITEC at the University of Indiana you would have a chance to play a lot of horns. If your future prof, is there he could listen and help you make an informed decision. Even if he isn't there, it might make it possible to narrow the choices. You also might find a really good used horn and then could save your money for the purchase of an f tuba later.
Good luck and have fun. Remember buying a tuba is not a marriage, though hopefully with a good first pick, it could be a nice long term relationship.
ScottM

Scott, it's Indiana University...........honest mistake, but we Hoosiers don't want to lump you in with Bryant Gumbel for making it........

[jkebyr]

Okay, so I emailed him and he said that a 4/4 or 5/4 tuba would probably be fine either way, although a 6/4 would probably be too big. He also said B&S and Meinl were definitely good choices to look at. I'll be talking to him about it more, but he didn't seem to have a preference for what I get as long as it works for me.

[TexTuba]

...as long as it works for me.

Bingo! Have fun looking for a tuba that fits YOU.