Tuba Purchase Suggestions Welcomed

[quinterbourne]

Hey all,

I'm not all that experienced in all the brands, models and what-not out there. Ultimately, I will choose something that I like the best. However, I like doing a bit of research "and such" to help along with my decision making process. Any advice would be wonderful!

I am looking to purchase a good quality sturdy "largish" 4/4 or "smallish" 5/4 CC tuba. I envision this tuba as being OK for solos, GOOD for quintet, EXCELLENT for smaller orchestras/light orchestral repertoire and OK for the big orchestral stuff. It will be my ONLY tuba (although I plan on eventually adding a smaller F and a 6/4 CC BAT). I want one with 5 valves (preferably 4 pistons w/thumb rotor), good intonation, a clear/focused sound, consistent in all registers, a bore of .750"+ and good flexibility. It doesn't necessarily need to have a massive earth shaking sound. My price range is $6000-$10000 USD.

I'm going to list some brands and models I am considering. Please let me know any comments you have for them, as well as any other brands/models you suggest that I should try out.

Perantucci PT-3/4/6/7/20/606
Meinl Weston 2145/2155/2000
Rudolf Meinl C4345S
Rudolf Meinl 5/4
Willson 3050S
Besson 995
Miraphone 1291 or 188
Yamaha YCB-822/861

THANKS!

[iiipopes]

They are all fine horns. Try to play them all to see what the different quirks are, and to see which set of quirks matches your personal set of quirks or ideosyncracies: intonation, valve position, weight, balance, tone character from low to high, etc.

While you're at it, play a couple of different mouthpieces with each horn as well, as your whole system from the bottom of your diaphram to the rim of your bell has to match to be the horn for you.

[ThomasP]

I would eliminate the PT-7 from your list as well as the Willson 3050 (and I play a 3050). I think the type horn you might want would perhaps be the PT-606, I think it's smaller than a PT-6, which I think might be a little too large for what you're after. I know the PT-20 is a good horn, and not too big. I'm not familiar with the Rudy's and I've never been really fond of the MW horns.

[MaryMacK]

Hi,

I played the Meinl-Weston 2145 for over a year and loved it (Very clear sound, not so bad intonation, and nice range). It worked really well with solo, quintet, and small/medium ensembles. I wanted a bit bigger sound for my orchestral gigs, so I switched to 2155 and it is an equally great horn. After playing two differnt models of Meinl-Weston, I noticed that this brand gives more focused, clear, and perhaps a bit brighter sound than the other brands (at least when I play it). I've also played the Yamaha-822 for a bit and liked the instrument a lot; however, the valve placement was a bit too awkward for me.

There are sooooo many great horns on the market these days that you it's hard to say what's the best tuba. I'd say the best way to go about buying a horn is to acutally play them, rather than just staring at the pictures and getting the stats on the horn.

[Lew]

Those sound like a good start. I'd add Hirschbrunner to the list as well. I know some folks are all ga ga over the new mirafone and stuff. But my Hirsch has done everything from pro orchestra, to jingles, to soundtracks, to solo, to klezmer, to balkan, to 2nd line, to quintet... well you get my point. It's a solid beast. I'm not a big fan of Custom Music but if you're looking for a large selection of horns try them out. They're down right criminals but they have some great horns.

I guess Hirschbrunner is the Jewish cousin of Hirsbrunner (Sorry couldn't resist and know you can take a joke)

http://www.hirsbrunner.com/

[Cameron Gates]

Hey all,

I am looking to purchase a good quality study "largish" 4/4 or "smallish" 5/4 CC tuba. I envision this tuba as being OK for solos, GOOD for quintet, EXCELLENT for smaller orchestras/light orchestral repertoire and OK for the big orchestral stuff. It will be my ONLY tuba (although I plan on eventually adding a smaller F and a 6/4 CC BAT). I want one with 5 valves (preferably 4 pistons w/thumb rotor), good intonation, a clear/focused sound, consistent in all registers, a bore of .750"+ and good flexibility. It doesn't necessarily need to have a massive earth shaking sound. My price range is $6000-$10000 USD.

I'm going to list some brands and models I am considering. Please let me know any comments you have for them, as well as any other brands/models you suggest that I should try out.

Perantucci PT-3/4/6/7/20/606
Meinl Weston 2145/2155/2000
Rudolf Meinl C4345S
Rudolf Meinl 5/4
Willson 3050S
Besson 995
Miraphone 1291 or 188
Yamaha YCB-822/861

THANKS!

A three digit number you need to check out: 606.

Sorry to sound like a broken record. Fits what you are looking for in an instrument and fits the budget (at least as of this past summer).

Your quote "It doesn't necessarily need to have a massive earth shaking sound" makes me giggle. This thing can shake paint off the walls if you want it to.

Try the 606, the 1291, and the 2000 together and let us know what you think. BTW, the 2000 is out of that price range.

[rascaljim]

If you look at the for sale section you could probably get a used MW2k for around 10. They're not 'flying off the shelf' at the moment because there's a lot of new horns on the market.

I was standing in line with everyone else about a year and a half ago for a 1291 when my 2000 found me. I played the horn next to a 1291 in a showroom in Indiana and everyone I was with agreed it sounded better than the Miraphone. I thought it was strange because I had always played miraphone prior to the MW2k purchase. I guess I was just never fond of how bitey/brassy miraphones get when they're played loud.

My 2c

Jim Langenberg

[tubeast]

Quinterbourne,
I like the idea of a reasonable sized 4/4 CC as a one-size-fits-all horn. I guess with a variety of two mouthpieces to choose for different purposes You´ll probably be set for a while.
I´d second the PT20 proposal in this case.

You told us you´d ADD another 2 horns later (BAT and solo whistle) to your stable. You might be able to save some money in the long run by making that 2 horns right away rather than three in the long run.

You mentioned "a good quality study "largish" 4/4" horn to be your primary interest. Study = not graduated yet ?
In that case I´d rather go for a "grown-up 5/4 CC" and "not-so-huge F", one of them to be bought, the other to be borrowed from school. As you advance, you can always get whatever horn meets your needs, but will never have to ask yourself whether that new horn was "too close" to the tuba you already have.

(Suppose you fell in love with a B&S Apollo. Huge F tuba to be mistaken as a small CC, but it won´t out-sound your MW2000.)

[quinterbourne]

I am very grateful for all of the wonderful feedback I have been receiving. Thank you all so very much!

I just want to make it clear: I am definitely purchasing what I like the most. I'm not going to purchase an instrument solely on it's specifications or what some person says. However, I like to go in with as much information as possible. When trying tubas, I will make a point to make sure I don't know what brand and model of tuba I am using - so that doesn't bias my opinion. I expect that I will end up finding quite a few that I do like a lot, and that won't be able to choose one just by playing it. This is where I would use specs and opinions of others to "break the tie."

I would love to add the Hirsbrunners to my list. I think they may be out of my price range though. I will contact Custom Music about prices.

Plenty of positive feedback about the PT-606p. Thank you all! I also heard from a famous player (no name, to respect his privacy) in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada who tried one recently. He said it was one of the best CC tubas he has ever tried.

I look forwarding to making this huge decision!

[quinterbourne]

tubeast wrote

Quinterbourne,
I like the idea of a reasonable sized 4/4 CC as a one-size-fits-all horn. I guess with a variety of two mouthpieces to choose for different purposes You´ll probably be set for a while.
I´d second the PT20 proposal in this case.

You told us you´d ADD another 2 horns later (BAT and solo whistle) to your stable. You might be able to save some money in the long run by making that 2 horns right away rather than three in the long run.

You mentioned "a good quality study "largish" 4/4" horn to be your primary interest. Study = not graduated yet ?
In that case I´d rather go for a "grown-up 5/4 CC" and "not-so-huge F", one of them to be bought, the other to be borrowed from school. As you advance, you can always get whatever horn meets your needs, but will never have to ask yourself whether that new horn was "too close" to the tuba you already have.

(Suppose you fell in love with a B&S Apollo. Huge F tuba to be mistaken as a small CC, but it won´t out-sound your MW2000.)
_________________
Hans
MW 46, B&S4097

Thankyou very much for the suggestions. Definitely food for thought! Unfortunately, there is no tuba to be borrowed from my University. It's actually something that I've started to fight for (thanks to your inspiration). My school purchases soprano/tenor/baritone saxophones for it's saxophone students. I don't see why we should not be getting similar treatment. I think students should have to buy their good 4/4 while the University provides a smaller F and a CC BAT.

The idea of having two tubas in my arsenal is one I am not too comfortable with as of yet. I still think that the F tuba and BAT are "specialty" items that should be added last - and that the "largish" 4/4 CC should be the main horn and of the highest quality. My problem with the 2 tuba combination is that I wouldn't be comfortable on either tuba with the majority of stuff that lies "in the middle." For example: a Tchaikovsky Symphony doesn't feel right on an F tuba and a BAT is not good at all. However, that "largish" 4/4 CC is OK (but not the best) for solo, Berlioz and Shostakovich. Also, the

grown-up 5/4 CC

may not be the BEST for Shostakovich (not big enough) and the

not-so-huge F

may not be the BEST for Berlioz/Solos (too big).

[MartyNeilan]

grown-up 5/4 CC may not be the BEST for Shostakovich (not big enough)

I think that outside of the NYPO or CSO such a horn could definitely work for the likes of Shostakovich and Tchaik symphonies. In the smaller and regional orchestras where you will probably start out you may find yourself getting "the hand" much of the time, and the gargantuan silver BAT will probably be unnecesary and may even be unwelcome.

[quinterbourne]

tubeast/Hans wrote:

You mentioned "a good quality study "largish" 4/4" horn to be your primary interest. Study = not graduated yet ?

This was a typo. I mean to say "a good quality STURDY "largish" 4/4 horn"