
Some people are listing 5/4 & 6/4 rotary tubas (GR-51/55, Fafner, etc). Read the subject title

We could go around in circles all day on what is "professional" and what is "student" when it comes to horns. I mean, generally speaking, most ppl and marketing will think: 3/4 3-valve tubas as 'student'; 4/4 4-valve tubas as 'intermediate'; and 5/4 & 6/4 5-valve tubas as 'professional'. But we all know there are pros who make money on 3-valve BBb sousas and tubas, and plenty of students and amateurs playing large, 5-valve contrabass & bass tubas. Of ALL brass instruments, there is far greater diversity/variation among tubas, as there is no set standards. Tubas come in sizes from the baby tornister (1/4 size?) to the huge 6/4 size; from 3 to 6 valves; and in four standard keys: F, Eb, CC & BBb. And to complicate even more, we have upright bells, recording bells, sousaphones and helicons.ren wrote:There’s a minor point to be made here. These are unless you are a serious bflat tuba aficionado, student horns we are talking about.
+1Doc wrote:Players want to use the best equipment they can to make it easier to sound/do their best. Those who are taking auditions (and are of the caliber that will actually be considered), have come to terms with their concept of sound a long time ago, and they usually have found a way to get that necessary equipment for auditions. They may still be open to finding better equipment, but they have graduated into a different category of player. And once they are working, they can more easily afford/justify expensive specialty equipment (BAT, BART, cimbasso, etc).
I would hardly call all of these student horns, but it’s easy to paint them as such since working pros who use BBb tubas can justify and afford the best available. I owned a 1291BBb. It is NOT merely a student instrument, and to insist that it is such is biased absurdity. And the pros that use these other “inferior” instruments might take you to task on BS like that. Unless your definition of a pro is limited to one who holds an orchestra seat, and even those pros aren’t in the habit of making statements like that.
+1Stryk wrote:When Pokorny plays a Mirafone, the CSO York, or a garden hose, he sounds like Pokorny. No matter the instrument, you sound like you - the instrument may play a minor role, but the person and what they can do with the instrument is the largest factor. If you don't have THE SOUND, you better have technique out the wazoo and unquestionable musicianship to make up for it. The only player I know of in my lifetime to have all of the qualities to the highest degree was Bobo. Perhaps his choices had some merit.ren wrote: Its people who insist that a dude playing a miraphone for a couple of days means miraphones are viable orchestra instruments here that is the problem.
I'm amazed (some of) you guys keep responding to "ren". Didn't your mama tell you not to feed the trolls?"ren" said:
None of these horns will win anyone a job in the US
Nobody in the us plays bflat tubas in ill say it “orchestras”
As a performance career path orchestra is the only one I’m aware of for tubist in the United States.
no one does or ever will play one in a US orchestra again.
There are only two kinds of tubas.
This last one just strikes as me bizarre. You really won an audition on an instrument you hate? Why would you keep playing it?As someone who won a symphony job using a miraphone I can tell you it was a terrible instrument and I wish I had never played it.