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I was contemplating on what would be the best key tuba for general playing. I am getting back into playing the tuba after a long 15+ year break and are browsing for a cheap, well used tuba to get back into the swing of things. I have only ever played BBb tuba's through middle/high school and college so I have no idea on any other key. I am hoping to maybe get into the local small town orchestra here and maybe into something more active/larger when we move to a bigger city area, like a bigger orchestra and a brass group.
Sincerely appreciate any direction or suggestions you may offer.

Cheers,
Jared

BBb is your home base. I would start with that until you actually know what you need. BBb tubas are easy to find and generally more affordable than CC or F tubas. It will be easier to solve playing issues if you don't have to also figure out the instrument at the same time.

If you had not moved over to another key in HS or Kollig, BBb = General use.

Welcome back.

the elephant wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 4:42 pm BBb is your home base. I would start with that until you actually know what you need. BBb tubas are easy to find and generally more affordable than CC or F tubas. It will be easier to solve playing issues if you don't have to also figure out the instrument at the same time.

Bingo.

When I started back in, I chose C since that became my “home base” in terms of finger patterns and sound concept.

I would say to stick to a contrabass as a first choice. It’s tempting when Eb tubas show up in playable condition for $500 to consider choosing a bass tuba in Eb as an option, but I’d avoid that simply because they’ll be limited in most wind band literature.

I already consider the inquiry in this thread completely answered so...

SIDEBAR/IGNORE: (non sequitur/borderline idiotic)

Not in reality - but theoretically, I've always wondered about a D/E-flat tuba. (Trumpet players have such instruments with two sets of slides.) One length would be wonderful to play in traditional jazz bands, obviously brass bands, and pieces in certain keys, and the other would be really good for several other keys, as far as finger patterns are concerned. The thing about the trumpet combination instruments is that usually one of them plays better than the other, and likely the tuba built with two sets of slides would be the same.

Another thread discussed double tubas. Were there valves that would move quickly enough on any double tuba, I believe a D/E-flat double tuba (or somehow a compensating tuba that was D/E-flat, instead of B-flat/F or E-flat/B-flat) would be the most usable and the most likely to be playable in both lengths.
...Of course it's playable on any tuba, but think about how incredibly easy - just as an example - the Arnold "Quintet" would be with a workable D/E-flat double tuba, were such an instrument able to be functional.

BACK TO THREAD:

@ non sequitur

The Getzen design of the G50 was maybe the closest playable design of a two key (but not double) tuba. The notion of the fifth being flipped to an ascending valve so that low C and B exist on the Bb side is smart. I’m curious as to how well these play under the expert assembly and tweaking of Lee Stofer.

I know that the Bb slides that came with my 2165 are tantamount to an interesting curiosity and nothing else. Sure, it makes a tuba that has Bb as an open overtone series, but otherwise not something anyone would want to play daily.

Tangent to the non-sequitur:

Has anyone tried to make a Bb/C euphonium?

matt g wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 6:06 pmHas anyone tried to make a Bb/C euphonium?

Just one of those Jinbao rotary ones. It was better in C than in Bb, and in C it sucked heartily…

Thank you everyone for the knowledge and recommendation. I will stay with the BBb then, until another key is required down the road, when I am hopefully regularly performing with a group.

Cheers,
Jared

matt g wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 6:06 pm @ non sequitur

Tangent to the non-sequitur:

Has anyone tried to make a Bb/C euphonium?

Cerveny makes a nice C/Bb upright euph. Decent C euph, not so good in Bb. Octaves did not line up in Bb with factory provide 12 C m/p. Use of 3G m/p solved the problem for me.

Ace

The best “do it all” tuba is probably a large Eb tuba, but that’s not for everyone. A good BBb is great though!

On the heavy valves thing, there is a horn maker (Finke) who uses something like plastic for the rotors. I believe they hold up reasonably well. I've wondered why tuba manufacturers have not tried that.

Hirsbrunner sort of did. They were so bad that HB had a replacement program.

If you ask this question of 10 people you will get 11 different answers.

The most appropriate answer, it would seem, is whatever is most comfortable for you. At the end of the day you can play anything on anything although it might not be as easy (or suitable) on a particular keyed instrument. Go for comfortable / likely to play.

Alebeard wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 3:58 pm I was contemplating on what would be the best key tuba for general playing. I am getting back into playing the tuba after a long 15+ year break and are browsing for a cheap, well used tuba to get back into the swing of things. I have only ever played BBb tuba's through middle/high school and college so I have no idea on any other key. I am hoping to maybe get into the local small town orchestra here and maybe into something more active/larger when we move to a bigger city area, like a bigger orchestra and a brass group.
Sincerely appreciate any direction or suggestions you may offer.

Cheers,
Jared

Another voice here for BBb: you’re used to the pitch, used to the size and used to the finger patterns.

As for what would be best for general playing, well four valve compensating Eb’s have a following - and that’s what I happen to play too - but I wouldn’t recommend one to someone coming from your restarting point. If a reasonable three valve BBb turns up at a good price then I suggest that you go for it and play it until you decide that you want something better - you might never need anything better.

The biggest reason for a BBb is you can find hundreds of different ones at prices you can afford. Most of the Eb tubas offered are really old peashooters with worn out valves. Polish 'em up and look at them or, with some, play them because they aren't too bad. You will need to learn slightly different fingerings if you are familiar with BBb but it can be picked up quickly. You probably won't be able to find a "cheap" CC horn and not many available.

In short, the easiest way to go would be a BBb horn.

For you, Bbb would be the best place to start back in. There is a wide variety of reasonably priced decent players in this key.

Also, the idea that you have to play a Cc or F tuba to be seen as a real tubist, is bullshirt! Look at todays top tubists, they play on any of the keys depending on what is needed. I was hooked with this when i was in college. Not that i regret it.

I also took a 15 year break, however, i refused to sell my horns. Aside from building your embochure muscles, everything else came back very quickly. So sticking with Bbb will be the quickest route.

Welcome back!

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Along the lines of tubas that can play in both Bb and C, I have found that the rotary Neptune plays well (and in tune) in Bb as long as you can accept that playing C in the staff works much better using the 5th valve alone. It can be converted back and forth from C to Bb in a couple of minutes. It is also excellent as a C tuba. In my opinion, they are quite undervalued in today's market.

By all means, get a BB-flat tuba as your first horn, for all the reasons that have already been mentioned.

The need for a second tuba may or may not become apparent as you work with ensembles and start playing in a variety of environments.

In my case, I have a monster E-flat tuba, a 3/4-size BB-flat, and a large-bore E-flat sousaphone. One thing that I didn't adequately consider was all the possible playing environments that I might encounter out on various jobs.

One ensemble I gig with does strolling gigs through nursing homes and other indoor venues. It's a royal PITA to maneuver a sousaphone or either of my upright tubas through the maze of low doorways and tight corridors that these facilities invariably have. Out caroling this time of year, there are issues with sousaphones not fitting under front porches and into small gazebos. A smallish medium-bore E-flat tuba, in the form factor of a large euphonium, would be so much more pleasant to deploy in these situations.

Thus, for me, if I had to start over, I'd get:
1. A 4/4 Bb-flat for general playing. Something with enough presence to single-handedly support a large ensemble, yet reasonably air-efficient. The Miraphone 186 comes to mind here.
2. Another E-flat sousaphone for marching band and most stand-up gigs. The Martin Indiana I have now is just about perfect for me; I imagine a Martin Handcraft would be even nicer.
3. A smallish E-flat tuba for strolling gigs and caroling. A lightweight 3-valve job that isn't stuffy and is reasonably well in tune would fill the bill here.

the elephant wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 4:42 pm BBb is your home base. I would start with that until you actually know what you need. BBb tubas are easy to find and generally more affordable than CC or F tubas. It will be easier to solve playing issues if you don't have to also figure out the instrument at the same time.

Amen! Quoted for TRUTH!

I will add my vote to what appears to be the growing consensus: BBb is the practical choice.

I would offer an additional suggestion, as well. If you are thinking about expanding your options later, consider eventually adding a euphonium to your toolkit. The learning curve coming from a BBb is fairly low and gentle. You can very easily cover the bass line in some small ensembles; there are folk music sub-genres where the euphonium (or euphonium-like instrument, i.e., baryton, tenorhorn) is the default bass voice.