Tuba

[ussglassman]

What is the best tuba model used in drum corps today?

[Shadow_7]

Depends on how you define best.

Deg - Best ergonomics and not bad horns. For most of their 5/4 4 valve models anyway.

King 1151SP - BBb best sounding and a viewport to the left.

Kanstul - Best playing horns, but ergonomics were a little odd for me on their BBb model.

Jupiter - ??? cheapest ???

Yamaha - ??? lightest ???

All highly subjective depending on the player / group / environment. The King 1141SP is a good horn. But playing 10 cents flat at room temperature and a 4th valve that isn't in a usable position puts it out of contention with many other horns. And some design variances between horns of the same make and model.

[KingDubya]

If there were a single best, I don't think we'd have competing companies in the business...

Depends on how you define best.

Deg - Best ergonomics and not bad horns. For most of their 5/4 4 valve models anyway.

King 1151SP - BBb best sounding and a viewport to the left.

Kanstul - Best playing horns, but ergonomics were a little odd for me on their BBb model.

Jupiter - ??? cheapest ???

Yamaha - ??? lightest ???

All highly subjective depending on the player / group / environment. The King 1141SP is a good horn. But playing 10 cents flat at room temperature and a 4th valve that isn't in a usable position puts it out of contention with many other horns. And some design variances between horns of the same make and model.

I'm not sure what model Boston used this year, but our Kings were apparently very bell-heavy (I didn't play it, but I heard a lot about it over tour). Also, the "viewport" apparently was about a square inch on ours... Nonetheless, Kings tend to have a very warm sound, so quite a few corps love them.

Yamaha's aren't necessarily the lightest (I think), just balanced the best. You can literally let go of it and it will stay on your shoulder for maybe 3 or 4 seconds before starting to tip (according to my friend who auditioned Cavvies). I've heard some people complain about the sound, but I've never noticed anything much.

Edited September 14, 2008 by KingDubya

[ussglassman]

I was really shocked to see BD using the smaller DEG tubas. I know they are marching 12 now, but it looked so funny to see those guys running around with little horns when I have grown up seeing them playing only 5/4's. Anyone know why they downgraded?

[Kamarag]

I was really shocked to see BD using the smaller DEG tubas. I know they are marching 12 now, but it looked so funny to see those guys running around with little horns when I have grown up seeing them playing only 5/4's. Anyone know why they downgraded?

The Dynasty 4/4 horns play and sound better than the 5/4 horns do, and have for a few years. The 4/4 is an excellent marching tuba.

The Yamaha is also a very good sounding horn, and is probably the best balanced. The Yamaha and Dynasty both are well balanced and easy to march with.

The King with the funky 4th valve is only an "ok" sounding horn. It's good, but not as good as the Dynasty in sound. It's also the most ridiculously designed from a marching standpoint. For that reason alone I would never use one.

The King 1151 looks like it would be very good from a marching/balance standpoint, but I haven't played on as of yet. The sound heard by the corps using them is pretty good, at least along the lines of the Yamaha. It may sound as good as the Dynasty, but I'm going to have to do some more listening.

The Jupiter is a horn with a lot of potential. Jupiter as a company has made epic strides in horn quality over the last few years, and I really like the sound they can produce. I'll have to play one soon, but the sound I heard by the lines using them was very good.

[G_Bass]

I test-played a lot of these at the Texas Music Educator Association Convention in San Antonio earlier this year (Bbs only, no Gs present). Here's my run-down of them:

Dynasty: Leadpipe was missing on the 5/4 model, so only played the convertible model. It seemed to be made of tin foil, and sound was less than what I expected from DEG.

Jupiter: Very cheap, but good quality. Its playing is a bit stuffy, but sits rather ok. It is very similar to a Kanstul horn.

Kanstul: Did not have the marching horns there, but I've played them before. They're much like their G counterparts, and are nice to play. The new leadpipes are small, which makes your arms look parallel if you have your hand through the U.

King: Didn't have the 1141s (I think they got the idea no one liked them), but the 1151 reminded me a lot of the K-90s except in Bb and with a 3rd valve. Good sound, and with it made with an S-shaped lead pipe, yes it will be front heavy, but that's the closest thing to an old school contra, IMHO.

Yamaha: Under 20lbs. of metal made into a marching equivalent of a student model horn. Its alright, the balance on the shoulder is good. The playing is what you get with Yamaha.

Note: My remarks are my own and of my own opinions made of when I worked in a brass repair shop.

[Kamarag]

Dynasty: Leadpipe was missing on the 5/4 model, so only played the convertible model. It seemed to be made of tin foil, and sound was less than what I expected from DEG.

Yea, the convertible Dynasty isn't that great. It's the 4/4 marching horn that's really nice.

[G_Bass]

Yea, the convertible Dynasty isn't that great. It's the 4/4 marching horn that's really nice.

I would have tried it if it were there, but they only had the 5/4 and the convert. Sucks.

[ussglassman]

Pretty much any "convertable" tuba is a sales gimmick companies use to trick high schools into thinking they are getting a multipurpose instrument. I played a yamaha 105 in high school, and it was junk both on and off the field. As far as the Jupiters, their specifications are almost identical to Kanstul. I highly doubt Kanstul sells jupiter unmarked horns as yamaha does, but if you compare the specs and look at pics of them, they are very, very similar. I have played a Dynasty 4/4 before, and there are quite a few funky design things im not too fond of, and they really dont seem to have that "bass" that the bigger horns have. But, if you want 4 valves, its the only option on the market.

[Kamarag]

Pretty much any "convertable" tuba is a sales gimmick companies use to trick high schools into thinking they are getting a multipurpose instrument.

Well, both of the high school bands that I teach use the convertible Yamahas, and they work just fine for us. In a perfect world we would have marching only horns for outside, and some nice concert horns for inside, but the realities of today's school budgets prevents it.

In the case of the Yamaha, they are by no means perfect, but they sound good, are easy to march with, and work fairly well indoors as well. They just require a little more TLC than other instruments.