What size bore is your favorite for tuba?

[ndh3425]

This is something im interested in knowing.

[Merodach]

I like nimbus clouds.

[windshieldbug]

Even more basic: where in the bore profile do the valves occur?
The biggest bore doesn't mean very much if it's late in the bugle...

[TheGoyWonder]

There aren't many opportunities to A-B bore size. Maybe within a class like 4/4 BBb rotary tubas, it would go from .748 to .825 and you could try to guess what effect the bore had. Or within 4/4 BBb short leadpipe piston tubas, it would go from .656 to .750 and again you'd be guessing if the bore size had caused your observations.

[Paul Scott]

.712

[roweenie]

.750 / 19mm

[Dan Schultz]

That sort of depends on the horns the bores are attached to. But.... in order with most favorite being 1st:

- .868" Rudolf Meinl 5/4
- .752" Marzan/B & M/York Master
- .688" King 2341

[Toobist]

Whatever bore size my 4/4 Nirschl might be.

[AaronC1901]

I never realized what effect the bore size of an instrument had on its playing. Now I'm young and haven't played many instruments, but I've always seemed to be view the larger bore sizes as being harder to get around on. My favorite out of the horns I've played was a BBb Miraphone 1291 with like a .835 bore, but the horn that took the most for me to fill up was a Conn 36J with a .770 bore. It never even occurred to me that the difference might have something to do with leadpipe length! So that makes me wonder, is a shorter leadpipe better?

[boobentuben]

[DBCooper]

I never realized what effect the bore size of an instrument had on its playing. Now I'm young and haven't played many instruments, but I've always seemed to be view the larger bore sizes as being harder to get around on. My favorite out of the horns I've played was a BBb Miraphone 1291 with like a .835 bore, but the horn that took the most for me to fill up was a Conn 36J with a .770 bore. It never even occurred to me that the difference might have something to do with leadpipe length! So that makes me wonder, is a shorter leadpipe better?

Now you enter into the black art of tuba design.
With trumpets and trombones the wrap is similar enough that valve bore size can more easily compared, but tubas are all over the map!
With a short mouthpipe the valve bore size is effectively larger when compared to the total tuba.

[MaryAnn]

Small.

[T. J. Ricer]

I have played great tubas in all four keys with a .689" bore (I have also played a bunch of tubas with other bores that were great).

Besson/Yamaha/Nirschl Eb
King 2341 BBb
Kanstul (several models in several keys)
Frankenstein-Martin Mammoth BBb tubas made by several different people
Bell Model CC
Yamaha 621 in F, CC, and BBb (and 821 F)
More?

Correlation, not causation... But it does seem like that is a bore that is "big enough" while not being an "air hog"

-T. J.