Gronitz PCK 6/4 Kaiser Piston CC Tuba

Item Details

This is a large 6/4 size five valve piston CC tuba called the Kaiser Model.  It's similar to the Hirsbrunner Grand Orchestra tuba, the Meinl Weston Baer and the Yorkaha tuba. Alan Baer actually won the New York Philharmonic position and several others on this model PCK tuba. The Gronitz PCK is played by many other professionals, including Gene Pokorny, Norm Pearson, and many others.  Gronitz tubas are handmade in Bavaria, Germany in a small shop owned by Andreas Klingspor. The tubas are built to order and are hand assembled the old way.  Every crook and bend is hand fit on the horn.  This tuba is also very light, being made mostly of sheet brass bows rather than heavier bows made from tubes.  The PCK has a velvety smooth tone, and it's the easiest to play large tuba that you can find.  This design defines the modern orchestral sound.  Despite its large size, it's a very versatile tuba and is useful for smaller ensembles as well as large ones. Gronitz piston valve tubas, including the PCK, have MAW as standard.  These are a proprietary design by Martin Wilk.  The pistons are made by Meinlschmidt in Germany.  However, I order standard pistons.  I don't find the tone of  MAW tuba to be as lively.

The PCK tuba is sold with top loading gig bag from Gronitz.  We offer the standard mouthpipe or York style mouthpipe, which wraps slightly less around the bell.  The tuba then sits away from your body a little, but the reach of the right arm to the pistons is shorter.  This is a popular option in Japan, less so here in the US.

Who won an audition on a Gronitz PCK tuba?

Fort Worth Symphony - won by Alan Baer in 2003
National Symphony - won by Alan Baer in 2003
New York Philharmonic - won by Alan Baer in 2003
Canton Symphony - won by Tom Lukowicz in 2007
Springfield Symphony - won by Tyler Schwirian in 2012
Montreal Symphony - won by Austin Howle in 2013
Louisville Symphony - won by John DiCesare in 2014