The American style hollers, "Tuba, tuba, I love to play the tuba!" and the German style shouts, "I play the tuba, and you had better like it!"
Note: the "German" tuba looks a little taller than it actually is, due to the bottom bow guard.
The American style has a much larger bell flare and bigger top and bottom bows. There is a short leadpipe and pistons of a very modest bore. Although the American style starts out smaller it ends up bigger. The flare is very rapid and conical and starts early; the second leg of the tuning slide is considerably larger than the first. Despite the smaller bore, the horn does not play stuffy at all, probably due to the valves being located so early in the taper.
The German style is more cylindrical in nature, has a longer leadpipe, and a considerably larger bore through its rotary valves. However, the taper does not begin until after the second leg of the tuning slide. Coupled with the longer leadpipe and the longer path through a rotary valve vs. a piston valve (this is rarely commented on,) this puts taper beginning much further down the horn than its American counterpart.
Which is better? Yes.
