Nirshl (Elkhart)

[Eric B]

Last night I was playing my monthly gig with the Singing Men of East Texas. There was a tuba sitting in the loft. It was not in a case or gig bag. I could only see the the silver bow of the instrument from my vantage point. I figured I was looking at the bow of a beat up St. Pete or something similar. Curiosity got the best of me & I walked up to check it out. To my astonishment, it was a Walter Nirshl 4 valve CC (Elkhart). With the pastor's blessing, I took the instrument to a conference room while my group was having their 30 minute prayer time. Holy cow! That thing was awesome! It was definitely the the best part of my day. I have several questions.

Is this based on the Chicago Symphony York CC?

Are these still in production?

Who sells them?

What is the price?

[bort]

I'm not sure about the "Elkhart" on the bell, but maybe that's standard?

If it was a gigantic tuba, then yes, it's a copy of the CSO York. It's a handmade tuba, and they are very highly regarded. I'm not sure if they even make them anymore, but if so, it's a special order for sure. They are rare.

Baltimore Brass has a lightly used one right now for $21,500.

Who owns the tuba? To leave an instrument like this unprotected in a loft is beyond me... I would have that thing in a flight case all the time, in my house, and fully insured.

Glad you got to play it, those are great tubas!

[Eric B]

I don't believe it had a 5th rotor, but looked very much like that photo. Walter Nirshl and Elkhart were definitely stamped on bell. It may very we'll be a BMB manufactured in Brazil and assembled in Indiana. If so, can somebody supply a link to information on the instrument and list price?

[Dan Schultz]

Herr Walter Nirschle tuba built in Brazil based on the Bohm & Meinl-built Nirschle tubas.