Posted by Charlie on December 18, 2001 at 19:37:14:
In Reply to: CC or BB? that is the qq posted by Brandon Ostrom on December 17, 2001 at 22:18:50:
One of the main reasons CC's cost more is one of a manufacturing nature as well. The CC's cost just as much to create the molds and dies and all involved in making a tuba. These costs are not recuperated as fast because they sell less #'s of CC's so they have to raise the price per piece to pay for initial manufacturing costs.
Plus there are more costs when making a new model because of all the research involved in getting it to production.
I honestly feel that there is way too much importance put on BBb's being made cheaper and of less quality because they are school tubas. On some and I mean some, limited to 3 and 4 valve top action tuba models, this may be true, but on most of the tubas being made today by Meinl Weston, Rudy Meinl, Miraphone, Willson and all of the major manufacturers they just do not tell their craftsmen to make this line with less quality. If you ever visit a plant in Germany you will understand that. The % of BBb's made in school quality to me would be minimal. These companies take pride in all they make and to intentionally make a poorer quality tuba because of it being a BBb seems to not fit the standards they hold their craftsmen to and the reputation they want to have in the industry.
I wish the manufacturers would put a post on here to verify that their 4 valve rotary and piston BBb's are made just as well as CC's. To me this is not a good thing and not true. My 191 5V gold brass is as good in quality as any CC I have ever played. To tell me that because it is a BBb it is made cheaper and poorer quality. All of the 3301's and 3302's I have seen are as good as any CC made.