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I'm considering buying an F cimbasso and am seeking advice.
Who makes cimbassi? What brands should I consider?
Where does one find/purchase them?
I saw Chris Olka's video review of a Dillon. Dillon currently shows them out of stock.

More generally, where are good places to find/buy tubas these days? Looks like Brasswind went under. Any new places (I'm aware of Dillon, BBC, Tuba Exchange, The Mighty Quinn)?

cskatz wrote: Thu Mar 27, 2025 5:22 pm Looks like Brasswind went under.

They just got assimilated by the Guitar Center Borg. Guitar Center/Music & Arts/Musician's Friend/WWBW were all owned by the same company. WWBW was deemed redundant and was shut down and they redirected customer's to Music & Arts.

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

Wessex Tubas has Cimbassi. I have not seen any reviews and not sure what the availability is.

Play before you buy and bring your tuner.

Craig F wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2025 6:07 am WWBW was deemed redundant and was shut down and they redirected customer's to Music & Arts.

They used to have 30 tubas in a showroom (in the early 2000s). It was worth a flight to go try lots of tubas in one place. They even picked me up at the airport (long before uber). Sigh.

.

Mike Johnson is making cimbassi.

Funny, even though I need nothing at this point in time, I would still be attracted to a cimbasso in tenor Bb, just because. Whoever is stuck selling my stuff after I leave the planet is going to have quite a task. I keep telling people you can never have too many tubas. They walk into my living room and go Yikes.

Mary Ann wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2025 9:28 am Funny, even though I need nothing at this point in time, I would still be attracted to a cimbasso in tenor Bb, just because. Whoever is stuck selling my stuff after I leave the planet is going to have quite a task. I keep telling people you can never have too many tubas. They walk into my living room and go Yikes.

Wade clicked "like" because he and I are both (slow as molasses) building bass trombone cimbassos (cimbassi?).

Mine is .562" bore, with four front-action pistons and two L.H. rotors.

The bell section has an on-board F-attachment (as I DO have a regular playing slide for it), which would not be used when the valve section is mounted (in lieu of the playing slide).

As I have not idea how in-tune (or not) it may be, it's going to have a tune-any-note trigger just past the mouthpipe tube and before the first piston...though I got absurdly lucky with the rotary one I built in F.

None of the stuff I acquired to build this thing cost very much...The bell section is an 80's Yamaha copy of a Conn 72H...previously QUITE distressed...actually bartered for a set of valve caps the previous owner wanted... bragging...?? (maybe...??) the bell section now neither shows nor suffers from any hints of damage...(I might get in a weird mood, and spend two or three hours - some morning - buffing and lacquering it...?? nice thing about "vintage" Yamaha? They PAINTED their name on bells, back then, so no "YAMAHA" engraving. )

tuba players who also dabble/double in euphonium...
A BASS trombone cimbasso (probably) is a better "weird thing to have" (as far as being useful) vs. a tenor trombone cimbasso...
...oh yeah...and if an F cimbasso (used to play the 3rd trombone part in a "classical" symphony or symphonic piece) "triggers" B-flat tenor-and-bass slide trombonists, just IMAGINE how much a B-flat valve trombone/cimbasso will trigger them.

(They'll claim blah, blah-blah, and blah-blah-blah regarding "the music" when - just as in politics - their UNDERLYING argument is "who ends up with the money".)

I picked one up at Family Dollar around the corner.

Great prices.

I would go for a rotary bass tbone cimbasso, but not a piston because I stopped trying to do pistons. I can't even work a cornet with pistons, just feels awkward to this violinist / hornist. I would have at one point headed into bass tbone, and I even bought one, but it was clearly out of my reach ergonomically even a couple decades ago. Just too heavy having to be up in the air and maneuvered while up in the air. It was inspired by a CD by Doug Yeo, and he told me to buy the Yamaha single rotor that I still have (621 or something like that.)