Posted by John on October 11, 2003 at 15:08:14:
I just don't see any practical reason for the use of CC contrabass tuben over BBb in most settings. I don't buy the claim that, given two horns, identical in make, model, and craftsmanship, one in BBb and one in CC, the CC will play better. And the claim that it "makes the sharp keys easier to play" seems like an excuse to get out of being familiar with playing in every key on one instrument.
I doubt most orchestral conductors would even notice the difference between a BBb and a CC horn as long as they were both good instruments. I think that the conductor probably has more important issues to worry about; if the tuba part sounds good I doubt anybody would give a damn about what key of horn was being used.
My question is this. Assuming that I am a good enough player to begin with, is there anything really holding me back from being an orchestral BBb tubist (in somewhere outside of Germany) or is the whole CC thing really a bunch of hype?