Big Mouth Brass 6/4 BBb Tuba.....YES!!!

[LCTuba89]

Just got out of rehearsal with this horn.. I'm totally impressed! This thing is loud, I actually had to hold back this rehearsal due to the sound overpowering the ensemble. At least now I can conserve my energy, unlike before with the Melton 2155R which was an air hog.

The horn in action: https://youtu.be/v9Z2DMc8Mxw

The tubas of the upcoming 2015 Christmas Concert. From left to right: Miraphone BBb 186-5U, BMB BBb J-764LQ, and STAGG BBb 77-TU RW.

[LCTuba89]

The BMB 6/4 compared to my Wessex EEb.

[bort]

Congrats -- the pictures hardly do it justice. That is a HUGE tuba.

Probably easier than the 2155R for a LOT of reasons. Those are very rare tubas, maybe for good reason...?

[Davidus1]

Nice looking horn! Congratulations. I like the Eb too.

Hoping I can try one of the BMB horns out sometime. They look great and I've heard a lot of positive comments about them.

[Tubadork]

I have one and they really do kick butt.
Enjoy!
B

[LCTuba89]

Hoping I can try one of the BMB horns out sometime. They look great and I've heard a lot of positive comments about them.

If you're near Texas, talk to Alex C. He's the guy who introduced me to the 6/4's. He brought both the CC and BBb out and while the CC sounded amazing, the BBb was simply the hammer of the gods. 'Nuff said.

[LCTuba89]

Probably easier than the 2155R for a LOT of reasons. Those are very rare tubas, maybe for good reason...?

The 2155R has an amazing sound don't get me wrong, but between the storm trooper-like intonation accuracy and the fact it was a gas guzzler it just wasn't worth the trouble. The BMB 6/4 BBb has a highly usable scale with me only having to push in on the first slide in the upper staff, and it doesn't take much energy play this horn. Actually I have to play pretty quiet with this horn most of the time just because it's so efficient.

[mshores]

Is there a dealer for BMB or do you order direct?

[thevillagetuba]

As I understand it Buckeye Brass, in Columbus OH, is their distributor. I would give Rob a call and see what he can do to get one to you. The horns play well, and he is a very knowledgeable and nice guy which makes it a great route to get the horn.

[Art Hovey]

Last year I compared the prices between the BigMouth and the Buckeye websites.
The former was the winner.

[Frank Ortega]

I do believe that this is one of the best tubas on the market.

Great intonation, response, and tone. If I didn't have a beautiful 1932 Martin Mammoth BBb with 4 front valves and an upright, one piece bell, I'd buy it!

[LCTuba89]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEqwzSf4GM4

Another video of the 6/4 tuba.

[LCTuba89]

1st valve slide is WAY out...why is the horn that sharp? Usually BBb's aren't that far out.

I had just started using a different mouthpiece and the horn was playing sharp so I had to adjust. The slides were adjusted properly after the rehearsal. The 4th valve slide was out a lot more than the 1st valve slide.

[bisontuba]

The 6/4 BMB BBb tuba is a very fine horn.....
Mark

[LCTuba89]

1st valve slide is WAY out...why is the horn that sharp? Usually BBb's aren't that far out.

I had just started using a different mouthpiece and the horn was playing sharp so I had to adjust. The slides were adjusted properly after the rehearsal. The 4th valve slide was out a lot more than the 1st valve slide.

What mouthpiece was it?

It's a PT-65.

[LCTuba89]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGw-cI-WZaw

The tuba being used in the jazz band Christmas concert. Didn't feel like hauling out and setting up my big rig, so I just grabbed the tuba. I did a warm down at the end and if you have good speakers or using decent headphones you can really hear how much depth of sound this horn has even while I'm using a PT-65, an F tuba mouthpiece. With my Denis Wick 2XL its even more fat on the bottom end but requires more air support.

[bort]

I've never had much luck playing in tune with a PT65. Good tone, but kind of wild, and annoying intonation.

[LCTuba89]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HXocyL ... e=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWbdmKIAUog

Some videos of the recent brass band concert at my local mall. In these videos we repeat the tune, I sit out on the 1st time and come in on the 2nd time. The BMB 6/4 is surprisingly resonant on the 3rd partials, the lower partials are harder to hear because of the camera position being to close to the group and to the Miraphone 186 which is my fault. If the camera were in the front and much farther away you would hear the low pitches of the BMB much easier I'm sure. I decided to go back to the BMB Helleberg thanks to Bort's critique. I like the sound and intonation much better after all.

[LCTuba89]

BMB 764LQ BBb 6/4 on the left and Melton 2155R CC 5/4 on the right. The BMB 6/4 is huge compared to the Melton 5/4 especially in the outer bows.