| Alexander 164
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Custom built Alexander "Kaiser" model 164 BBb tuba was made for one of our
clients. This is a BIG tuba. The horn is so cool we had to put some
photos up for all to enjoy! By special order, custom built in
4-6 months. 
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$16000 |
| Josef Lidl 701
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This 3/4 size four rotary valve BBb tuba is compact but has excellent
projection and a very full sound for its size. Includes
compact hard case. Made in the Czech Republic, this is an
excellent first tuba for the student who prefers the ergonomics of a
medium size horn, or for the jobbing player needing a smaller BBb
tuba for pit orchestra, chamber music, or stand-up work We
have one BBb and one CC model on order. CC is in stock, BBb
will be available in one month. This is a great little tuba,
excellent low range, beautiful tone, good pitch, big sound for a
small horn, very light and resonant. Includes hard case.
This is a great buy for a compact tuba.
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$4000 |
| Meinl Weston HoJo
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Howard Johnson is an incredible jazz tuba player based
out of New York, He's been working with Meinl Weston to
develop a new BBb tuba that's as nimble and fun to play jazz on as
are the smaller Eb and F tubas. They've done it. This
BBb tuba is the most nimble model I've ever played, and is the only
BBb tuba that I'd heartily recommend for a bass trombone player who
wants to double and doesn't want to play CC, Eb, or F. It's a
four front piston design, in a smaller bore, but with a decently
large body and bell, and it has a big mellow sound.
The pitch is great, the tone is beautiful, and
dynamic range is easy to control. It's just a bit easier to
get around on it than on a Miraphone 282 BBb tuba. The only
drawback is that due to the smaller bore, the low range peters out a
bit for me. As I get down to low D or so, it's hard to really
crank out the loud notes as well as I can on the 282 or some larger
tubas. But who has to play that low anyway? There is indeed
enough slide pull to get a low C, and if someone wanted to play The
Lion King (which has several low C's), I'd say, work on it, and lean
into the microphone. Sold without case. Meinl Weston
also makes a top action version of this horn. We find the front
action version like this to be more popular, and I find the
ergonomics are excellent. .669" bore, 17.3" bell, small 4/4 size.
Norm Pearson of the LA Philharmonic really likes this
tuba. He says it plays like a small version of the big MW Baer
CC he uses.
We have Glenn Cronkhite cases in stock for this tuba.
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$5600 |
| Miraphone 282
 |
This is a new
model from Miraphone. It's a larger 3/4 size BBb tuba, which we
might even refer to as a 7/8 tuba, since it has such a big sound for
a compact horn. This is a much more nimble instrument than the
larger 186, and still has a broad sound and a very decent low
range. It has four rotary valves, a short nickel leadpipe with
conical bore through the valves, a brass body with nickel trim,
adjustable thumb ring, and a nickel bell kranz. It features lyre
and carrying strap attachments. The first and third valve slides
are easily accessible at the top of the tuba, and the third valve
slide has a very long pull, so you can pull it out and get a very in
tune low C with all four valves down. That's a nice feature,
because, although rarely written, the low C does appear on occasion,
and to play it in tune with four valves saves the weight and expense
of adding a fifth valve - not a trivial matter. Specs: This tuba
has a medium size 16.5” (420 mm) bell, with quite a different flare
from the traditional Miraphone designs. This one reminds me more of
a British style Eb bell, with a larger flare, and the smart design
shows with the big tone you can get from this horn. The valve
section is a conical bore, from .772-.803” (19.6-20.4 mm). That
means the fourth valve tubing is the largest of the valves, and that
makes sense since you usually add the fourth valve for only the
lowest notes, and this give a faster response and an open feel.
This tuba is a joy to play. It doesn’t bark the way the older 184
and 185 tubas does, so you get the feel of a bigger horn with less
effort and less weight. Read: medium bodied players won’t hurt
their back lugging it around. The pitch is good, it’s nimble for
technical slurring and fast playing, and the valve linkages are
absolutely silent with a short throw. One feature I also like is
the bottom-facing tuning slide, which is easily emptied, and doesn’t
gather moisture as do the tubas with a loop at the tuning slide
(184, 186, 188). The tuba is sold without case, but is a decent fit
in an MTS 1207V, or a Cronkhite gig bag. Includes TU15 mouthpiece.
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$5400 |
| Miraphone 186
 |
Same as above, in lacquered brass with nickel trim, nickel leadpipe,
gold brass around tuning bow, nickel kranz. Excellent
German-made professional 4/4 tuba, new completely silent rotary
valve linkages. This is the standard for a fine BBb tuba at a
great price.
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$6000 |
| Miraphone 191
 |
This
is a newer design from Miraphone. It’s a large bell, large bore BBb
tuba with a compact wrap. For that reason, it’s called either a 4/4
or a 5/4 size tuba depending on whom you ask. So, it’s a big large
bore 4/4, or a compactly wrapped 5/4. You choose. Besides the
large bore, the 5/4 proponents look at the large bottom bow and
large bell throat which makes this a decent big larger than a 4/4
186 tuba. This 191 has four or five rotary valves, a brass body
with nickel leadpipe and bell kranz, and nickel trim. It is
available in all gold brass as well. If you prefer a broader sound
and a larger feeling horn that’s still nimble, I think this is a big
improvement over the 186 in slotting and tone. It’s less brittle
and more nimble than the 186, and it has the traditional fast
Miraphone response but with less of a barking tone when you push the
volume. This professional quality instrument has an amazing low
range. If you have to play Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, this horn
would be a great choice, as the low F simply roars out of the horn.
The new valve linkages on this model are absolutely silent. No
sound, no rattle, nada, nope, very quiet. This horn has a large
18.5” (470 mm) bell and a constant bore thorugh the valves of .835”
(21.2 mm). Includes attachments for lyre and carrying strap, and
includes TU33 mouthpiece. Case is not included, but it can be
carried in an MTS 1207V case or a Cronkhite gig bag.
In stock in yellow brass with four valves.
Available in any combination of yellow or gold brass with 4 or 5
valves, ask for a quote.
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$6500 |
| Miraphone 1291
 |
New large 4/4 four front piston, lacquer. Great new design from
Miraphone. This tuba is one of the best BBb tubas we've played. Mellower,
wider sound than the rotary 191, less pointed tone on the attacks,
great pitch, a very worthy instrument for the working player who
prefers BBb to CC tuba. |
$7100 |
| Yamaha YBB-641
 |
Large 4/4 four rotary valve BBb tuba, similar to Miraphone 186.
Includes hard case with wheels. Laquered brass with nickel
trim and gold brass leadpipe. We have a special on a new, demo model, mint condition, not factory fresh |
$6000 |
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