Posted by Tim Cary on June 22, 1999 at 13:14:13:
In Reply to: the "perfect" tuba (ha ha) posted by jon schultz on June 22, 1999 at 12:02:47:
For that type of cash, you could easily buy a nice used B&S horn or a new Kalison D.S. I saw from an earlier post that you are a student at MSU, and the tuba inventory there is decent, so you could try a variety of horns. If you're near Detroit, a stop at Custom Music would be a good move, and even a road trip to South Bend (Brasswind) would be worth your while. Remember that the horns others play is not nearly as important as how well you like a particular horn and how well it sounds for you. There are a lot of heated discussions about the merits of various horns, but what is most important is which tuba is best for you. I perform on a Kalison, and for me it has worked out well. My horn is a CC, which you are interested, but I bought a CC becuase I had been primarily playing CC tubas for over twelve years. For an all-around horn, the fundamental (F, Eb, CC, BBb) is not as important as the size of the horn. There are some absolutely huge EEb's on the market (Willson), and some really small BBb's. If you're looking for a good all-around horn, a 4/4 CC or BBb probabaly would be your best choice. Mr. Sinder could also give you some good advice.