Posted by Steve Inman on January 09, 2004 at 23:11:46:
In Reply to: good Eb tuba posted by me on January 09, 2004 at 13:30:35:
Well, I started on BBb, same as most folks, in HS a long time ago. Bought a 186 Mira BBb after college and used it for about 15 years. Switched to Eb for about 5 years, as I played mostly quintet and it made the upper register playing easier. Had a Besson 983. Nice quintet horn, but playing lots of low passages in an occasional pit orchestra setting made me REALLY wish I had the big Willson 3400 Eb. Too expensive at that time, so I've made the decision to switch to the combination of CC and F. I view an F tuba as primarily a specialty instrument, and use it when I decidedly want a smaller, lighter sound. So this typically means using the CC for quintet and larger groups. But an F can also work in quintet. However, I tend to think of Eb as ideal for quintet range, and the Willson as plenty big for quintet, community band, pit orchestra, etc. Really, a nice choice for a single tuba solution, if you can afford it.
BTW, I often quote a post by Roger Bobo, who replied to my question from almost 10 years ago on the old "University of Missouri-hosted TubaEuph list" -- when I asked what people's choices would be for a one-tuba solution. He said a large Eb. But he also said he didn't believe in the one tuba solution in practice, so he didn't actually use Eb much.
FWIW,
Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN