Weight of tubas

[swillafew]

Miraphone Norwegian Star EEb

Light and comfortable, plays great.

[Conn 2J CC]

Like the others who've mentioned it here, I'm sorry to hear you're facing back surgery, so I wish you well and hope you're able to continue playing Tuba afterwards. FYI, my Conn 2J CC weighs 17 lbs. Although I don't have one for comparison, I would think the Bb version (4J? 5J?) would weigh under 20 lbs as well. Best of luck to you.

[sinfonian]

Besson 981 Eb 20 1/2 Pounds
Mirafone 183 Eb 13 Pounds

[hup_d_dup]

Conn 4J: 18 lbs.

Martin Mammouth: there are different versions, but the one I borrowed was 30 lbs with an upright bell. It had a front bell that made it even heavier.

Hup

[lowpitchmoravian]

Conn 25J-----33 t0 35 lbs .

[MartyNeilan]

Size of the tuba does not necessarily correlate with weight.
Some of the older handmade German, Czech, and similar Kaiser tubas handmade of thin sheet brass weigh next to nothing.
Keep an eye on ebay/craigslist - these things turn up often, in various conditions.

[circusboy]

B&S PT-3: 22 lbs
Cerveny ACB 483: 16 lbs
Cerveny Piggy: 18 lbs
Conn 2J: 21 lbs
Hirsbrunner HB-1: 25 lbs
MW 182: 17.4 lbs
Yamaha YCB-621: 16.5 lbs

I don't know the exact weight, but I remember being surprised by how light the Rudi Meinl 5/4 CC is, given its size.

So sorry to hear about the back troubles. They're terrible. Best of luck with it.

[bububassboner]

Okay first off thank you all for the words of encouragement and wisdom both publicly and privately. I have compiled everything I have so far into one list. Here it is.

Besson 981: 20.5 lbs

B&S Neptune: 25 lbs
B&S symphonie 6 valve: 18 lbs
B&S pt3: 22 lbs
B&S pt6p: 22.7 lbs

Cerveny 653: 14 lbs
Cerveny acb-483: 16 lbs
Cerveny piggy: 18 lbs

Conn 2j: 17 lbs
Conn 4j: 18 lbs
Conn 25j: 34 lbs

Hirsbrunner HB1: 25 lbs

Kanstul 900 BBb 4 valve: 28 lbs

Martin mammoth upright bell: 30 lbs

Marzan piston cc: 24 lbs

MW 30: 20 lbs
MW 182: 17.4

Miraphone 1291: 22 lbs
Miraphone 188: 22 lbs
Mirafone 186 4 valve: 16 lbs
Miraphone 186 5 valve: 18 lbs
Miraphone norwegian star: 19 lbs
Mirafone 183 Eb: 13 lbs

Rudy meinl 4/4 cc: 20 lbs
Rudy meinl 4/4 BBb: 20 lbs

Wessex mosel: 16 lbs
Wessex bombino: 16 lbs

Willson 3050rz: 25.3 lbs

Yamaha ycb-621: 16.5 lbs.

This is everything I have so far. Please feel free to add to this list. Thank you all again.

[southtubist]

I'm pretty certain that my Alexander is less than 20 pounds. It sits really close to my body and is about the right height. I'm about 6' 1" tall with pretty long arms. Mine has the rare 2 step 5th valve, so it is probably the heaviest variant you'll encounter. I don't know how the sound/playability fits in with what you're doing though. Mine can sound huge all the way down to the pedals, but mine is one of the good Alexanders.

[tbn.al]

Olds O-99 18.5 lbs

[Donn]

Happened to see on Sacramento craigslist - small fiberglass "Caravelle", I think this was Getzen or DEG, made by Willson, 50 years ago. "Just under 12 lbs", photo shows bathroom scale reading 11.14.

[Sandlapper]

I am sorry to hear your news of back issues. I have appreciated your posts over the years that I have followed this site.

In the for what it's worth department, two guys that are in bands with me have issues carrying their tubas from their cars to the rehearsal or concert hall. Both are using collapsible folding lightweight hand trucks ($19.99 or about in the big box store) and are managing getting the horns where they need them without injury. One is using a valve up tuba that he holds vertically on the stand so that it has very little lean and does not require much effort to hold the horn in position.

[highsierra]

Rudolf Meinl 5/4, 5 rotary valve CC tuba.....25lbs.

[jpetty24]

My MW 2141 Eb is 20lbs. and has a pretty comfortable leadpipe position. Granted I don't have the large ensemble playing experience but it is a nice horn that will play whatever you need it to.

[imperialbari]

I hold all of my tubas verticaly on my K&M playing stand to avoid supporting any tilting weight. This is not possible with all tubas, but then there appears to be a Hercules stand that will support a tuba in the player's preferred angle.

Klaus

[Greenbenches]

Conn 20J 29 lb
Martin Medium Bb with upright bell 21 lb recording bell adds about 1 lb
Miraphone Perinet 3/4 size 3 valve 13 lb
Yamaha 321 19 lb

[MartyNeilan]

I'll bet this larger tuba is VERY LIGHT
Thinwall, rotary (usually lighter than a comparable piston), 4 valve, compact wrap

http://m.ebay.com/itm/291428222263" target="_blank" target="_blank

[pjv]

As far as I know there are no tubas that weigh 10lbs. Even the Rheinsound Tiger plastic tuba weighs out at just over 12lbs (5.5kg).

I tried my best to weigh my tubas today, but with a cheapo scale from Ikea I question the reliability.
For example, my Kanstul 80 came out at about 17 1/2 lbs when it should weigh 20lbs.

My King 1241 or 2341 (1969?) came out to 20lbs on the body, 4 1/2lbs for the upright bell and 6 1/2lbs for the forward bell (an older bell made by the White Co.).

My Alex BBb 4v, (16 1/2" bell) weighed out at 20lbs, (but it could be more).

So there you go. Good luck.
Pat