F Tuba vs CC Tuba

[pjv]

Eb for a one horn to rule them all.
CC if it's your intention to prepare yourself for a glorious orchestra career.

[J.c. Sherman]

Or go for an Eb tuba - which can be used for band, orchestra, solos, quintet, etc

A good Eb compensating can do anything... as long as the player can

[PaulMaybery]

For 10 years I worked with The Salvation Army and had use of a wonderful Besson Sovereign EEb. I thought is as close to a perfect horn as could be, acoustically that is. Intonation was incredibly easy to control, sound could be enormous when needed and very focused. We had a traditional sextette and it was perfect in chamber brass, and I even used it in a large orchestral setting and it had plenty of sound left that I did not really even need. Plus the orchestral bass trombonist loved how it just melded into his sound and completed the section. It also had a certain resistance to it. Perhaps a combination of rather heavy metal and the compensating circuit of tubing. My feeling was that this resistance was an asset as having something to blow against gave the sound somewhat of a sturdy and formidable sound. However, I basically learned the EEb in treble clef and was fine in the brass band setting, but never felt that comfortable in bass clef, particularly in those orchestra settings. I have since returned to the F and CC instruments and occasionally the BBb to which I feel very much at home. The CC is my everyday horn. In practicing, I do most of the gymnastic type of tuba drills on the CC. Then the artsy stuff on the F and also the F cimbasso.

[KTurner]

A good 4/4 CC is probably the most versatile tuba imo, something like a bill bell or 186, 188, or gronitz pcm. To me one of those would be a great do-everything horn, rather than a big F, if a do it all horn is what you're looking for.

I wholeheartedly agree!

[Rick Denney]

For someone studying to be a professional, facility on all pitches will eventually be required.

Using F for everything requires lots of valves to play the low register reliably in tune, for ensemble music where the tuba's purpose is to be low. That's why German orchestral F tubas have six valves. But those Germans still bring a big Bb tuba when they need to move earth.

Using C for everything requires learning to play with clarity and accuracy in the upper register in order to cover the solo literature.

So, is it harder to move earth with a F, especially in the low register with many valves in play, or is it harder to play with clarity and accuracy in the upper register using a bigger C tuba? I've heard better examples of the second than the first.

Rick "start with the C" Denney