Posted by Sean Chisham on January 03, 2002 at 18:33:31:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: 3/4 rudi for sale posted by $$$ on January 03, 2002 at 18:15:20:
Bore has little to do with the size of a tuba. Yamaha made/makes a 3/4 piggy CC with a bore size near .900 while my Yorkbrunner has a bore of .770. When we speak of large and small instruments we generally are refering to the overall taper. The 3/4 Rudy has a larger taper than the weril.
In reality though, the physical attributes of a horn rarely have much impact on it's value as an artistic tool. For instance, one of the best instruments on the market is the Getzen G50 CC with a bore size of .689. One of the smallest made, but it is not all that small on sound. It easily keeps up with just about anything.
Manufacturers like to publish measurements and numbers with their instrument adds, such as bore size, bell size, X/4 size, height, weight, bla bla bla. None of that matters when it comes time to play it or listen to it. That is the only way to tell if the instrument if right for you.
My personal opinion on trying to find an instrument for someone just getting started is to start out with a list of what is the most popular. A good price point for someone who will probably stick with it, but has little ambition of winning the Boston Symphony audition, would be $3000-6000 for a good CC or BBb. The $3000 end mostly for good used instruments and the $6000 end for new ones or professional grade used ones.
For a current/potential college performance majors the price range is all over the place. It can be $5,000-$20,000 depending on what their personal preferences and what most easily allows them to reach their musical goals. That is just for their CC tuba. Their F/Eb, if they need one, can be another $4,000-$14,000.
sean