Lightweight tubas?

[opus37]

A mini tuba (aka Bubbie) or one of the new versions. They weigh less than 10 pounds.

[bisontuba]

Hi-
Old Mirafone, old Alex, Piggy, etc.--light weight...
Mark

[pjv]

Ditto about the old Alex.

Many sites give the tuba's weight by the spec's.

For very very long rehearsals I've used my old-style tuba stand as a playing stand which really takes ALL the load off.
I've heard that that the Yamaha Air-lift stands can also be used this way but you'd have to double-check this. If this is true it does seem logical to go this route.

Good luck to both of you.
-Pat

(I wonder if the Stealth tuba is still for sale?)

[circusboy]

The Lidl and Weril 3/4-sized horns are quite light. The BBb Lidl is particularly nice.

[bigtubby]

The lightest BBb I've seen is the Amati ABB 223 at around 12 pounds. They actually play pretty well and are quite inexpensive.

Probably easy to move it on to a young beginner when he's done with it too.

[scottw]

Hi-
Old Mirafone, old Alex, Piggy, etc.--light weight...
Mark

Old Mirafone [1972] is 15lbs.+------my back knows!

[swillafew]

"Euphoniums"

[Ace]

Weril CC tuba (640x480).jpg

My Weril 3/4 CC tuba is thick brass and weighs 14 lbs.

Ace

[Levaix]

I've never put my Sonora on a scale, but the B&S stencils (especially older handmade models) seem to be fairly light compared to other 4/4 tubas.

[TubaSteve]

I recently sold my Lyons "Monarch" 3/4 BBb that was a very small 3/4 horn. I sold it to a friend of mine who has a large rental fleet of horns for students, and he needed tubas. It is perfect for a student as it is very small, and plays very well for it's size. It in no way will produce the presence of a larger horn, but it was a good compromise. One of my fellow tuba players in our brass band is getting up in years and is at the point that he is having a hard time holding his Yamaha BBb 321. (he hit me with it at the last concert, not mad, but did give my Meinl a ding. ) I would like to find a small horn for him, that still can produce some reasonable sound. He recently tried a Caravel, that was a school horn cast off, but it really was not suitable. He has a clunker Yamaha/Holton POS that he can carry, but it sounds terrible. Unfortunately he plays it at almost every rehearsal and even some concerts.

Steve

[edsel585960]

There is a YBB-103 on ebay right now. They are light and have good sound for a small horn.

[windshieldbug]

Chuck Dallenbach of the Canadian Brass has a tuba with a composite bell. You may want to contact him...

[MartyNeilan]

Many of the early to mid 20th century "handmade" thin wall rotary European tubas - such as Cerveny, Alexander, and many other smaller names - are extremely lightweight. With the original rotary valves and plumbing, my WWI era Mitsching that is roughly the size of a 2165 actually weighed considerably less than a 3/4 Conn. Conversely, many of the older American and British tubas were quite heavy.
If you can see the "triangle" in the bell or see seams on the bows, that is a good sign of handmade.

[Lee Stofer]

Chuck Daellenbach's Getzen CB-50 CC tuba was re-fitted with a carbon-fiber bell, but that may not make as much difference as the weight of the branch tubing, or a 5th valve. A production Getzen G-50 weighs about 23 lbs.

The lightest-weight instrument I've encountered in a while is a "Meister Gerhard Schneider" 4-rotor CC that I just finished. This instrument is a 4/4 CC tuba with a .740" bore, 16.5" bell, will hold it's own in a concert band, and tips the scales at 15 lbs. or slightly less. One player looked at it and said it looked to be a prehistoric PT-3. Since it was made in the DDR (former East Germany), that means Markneukirchen, so it probably is a prehistoric, 4-rotor B&S. If interested, just send a PM.

[pjv]

The Tiger, at 11lbs, might be an alternative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mrtEsQYDJs" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

http://www.rheinsoundmusic.com/products ... d=1&sid=61" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

http://jhmasterwork.en.alibaba.com/prod ... _tuba.html" target="_blank

[J.c. Sherman]

Is there a way to get the Glaesel fiberglass BBb in this country?

[eupher61]

there's those mysterious bands holding the valve section again. Hmmm. I wonder which came first?

[sousaphone68]

Is there a way to get the Glaesel fiberglass BBb in this country?

There was a light blue one offered for over a year in the for sale section.
It intrigued me at the time and there was one on eBay in Bavarian blue and white diamonds that I did not win.
Internet searches at the time suggested that the factory was no longer making instruments

[Wyvern]

Wessex is likely to have the solution soon. I will announce, once I have working prototype

[sousaphone68]

Found the for sale thread it's a DEG Wilson
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=40762&p=504877#p504877" target="_blank"