Posted by Mike Ross on December 11, 1999 at 23:15:38:
In Reply to: New BBb Tubas in the $3,000 range? posted by T on December 11, 1999 at 14:01:10:
I'll preface what I have to post with two disclaimers:
1. This is only an armchair buyer's view of the market. I have not personally played any of these tubas (yet, anyway) and therefore cannot offer any qualitative judgements.
2. I have attempted to add some comments based on my IMPRESSIONS of the past posts here and on tuba-euph. I may be mis-stating things somewhat, and every brand or model has had both its supporters and detractors here and elsewhere. Your milage, of course, may vary.
Brands and models in BBb commonly advertised under $4000:
Amati: (Cerveny's piston-valved little brother) various models
Besson: Model 794 (non-compensating 4-valve) and various 3-valve 3/4 size
Conn:5J and 12J
Cerveny: various models
King: 2341 and 2300
Jupiter: 582L and various 3-valve models
Yamaha: 321, 201, and 105
DEG: Schafer, Dynasty, and Weril (see Joe S's posts on the Weril below)
Miraphone: S-186, 1271, and 182
VMI/B&S: 2103 (also known as 103)
Holton: Model 346 and several 3-valve 3/4 size
Bach: Models 1109, 1108, 1107 (I've heard these are made by, and are identical to, the Yamahas
Wurtzbach: (e-mail Joe Sellmansberger, a fequent poster)
E.M. Winston: A couple of Models
and there may be others I haven't found.
The general consensus seems to be:
Raves and Platitudes: VMI 103/2103
Generally +ve, some platitudes: King, Conn, Besson, Miraphone
Concerns, but some love 'em: Cerveny (Kaiser and Piggy seem to be liked by some for specialty CC uses)
Generally -ve, but some love 'em: Yamaha/Bach, St. Petersburg, Holton
The "stay away from" brands: Amati, Jupiter, E.M.Winston (there are posts in the archives about trying to find out where Winston horns are made)
Brands without much feedback: DEG, Wurtzbach
As I said above, these are merely passive observations that nobody has tried to compile before. For more information, most manufacturers, and hundreds of music stores have a web presence - fire up your favorite search engine and have fun. As I also said, I haven't played any of these, and I wouldn't buy any of them without knowing a lot more than I personally do at present.
Hope this helps some.
Best of Luck,
Mike