TubaForum.net

tubatodd wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 7:29 am What would that translate to tubas? What was a popular CC tuba in the late 70s?

tubatodd wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 7:29 am In the guitar and bass world, it's fairly common for players to want to own a "birth year" instrument. In other words, they purchase an instrument MADE the year THEY were born. I was born in the late 70s. So for me, my ideal birth year bass, would be a Music Man Stingray.

What would that translate to tubas? What was a popular CC tuba in the late 70s? My gut instinct is Miraphone, all day and twice on Sundays. Is that pretty accurate? Perhaps a Hirsbrunner. If you were to inventory every US symphony orchestra in the US in the late 70s, what as the most common make and model in use?

Bonus question 1: Why is that no longer the most common horn in use today?
Bonus question 2: What would be your birth year tuba?

graybach wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 8:20 am

tubatodd wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 7:29 am In the guitar and bass world, it's fairly common for players to want to own a "birth year" instrument. In other words, they purchase an instrument MADE the year THEY were born. I was born in the late 70s. So for me, my ideal birth year bass, would be a Music Man Stingray.

What would that translate to tubas? What was a popular CC tuba in the late 70s? My gut instinct is Miraphone, all day and twice on Sundays. Is that pretty accurate? Perhaps a Hirsbrunner. If you were to inventory every US symphony orchestra in the US in the late 70s, what as the most common make and model in use?

Bonus question 1: Why is that no longer the most common horn in use today?
Bonus question 2: What would be your birth year tuba?

I was born in the late 70s. I thought this would be a good question for AI. Just reading this, not all of it seems to be accurate. But, it’s more than I could come up with.

“In <birth year>, several manufacturers were producing tubas, with specific models from Hirsbrunner, Besson, King, and Yamaha identified as being available or manufactured that year.
Notable tubas made or available around <birth year> include:
Besson: The "New Standard" line was active, and a specific 4-valve compensating silver-plated Eb tuba from <birth year> has been noted. A 3-valve compensating BBb model was also produced.
Hirsbrunner: The Swiss manufacturer produced high-quality rotary valve tubas, including the ca. <birth year>
HB2 4/4 CC-Tuba (modern model HBS 290). A <birth year> catalog also mentions an HB-6 CC 5-valve model.
King: The Model 1241 B-flat Tuba was manufactured around <birth year>, featuring a detachable bell and piston valves.
Yamaha: Yamaha launched the YBB-641 rotary tuba model in <one year previous to birth year>, which would have been available in <birth year>. The YCB-621 CC tuba was also available around this time.
Miraphone: Miraphone was an established German manufacturer and was producing various Kaiser model tubas in the 1970s.
B&S (Bohland & Fuchs, Weltklang): Manufacturers in Germany (specifically in the Vogtland region) were producing various models, including the model 101 BBb tuba, sometimes under different export names.


2nd question I asked AI (It said “Conn Helleberg” for one of the tubas. I don’t know enough to know if that’s correct or not. I’ve always known that to be a mouthpiece.)

In the late 1970s U.S. symphony orchestras, popular tubas included the German-made B&S (Böhm & Sohn), especially models like the redesigned "Symphonie" series, alongside the rise of European brands like Meinl Weston and Hirsbrunner, while American favorites like Conn (Helleberg) and King (York) legacy models were still common but shifting towards these newer European styles for orchestral depth.
Key Brands & Models:
B&S (Böhm & Sohn): The German B&S "Symphonie" (Models 3099/3100) gained significant traction, with redesigned features to sound more modern and powerful than older models, becoming very popular in the U.S..
Hirsbrunner & Meinl Weston: These German/Swiss brands offered larger, deeper-sounding instruments that were increasingly favored in professional settings, often with 5 or 6 valves.
Conn (York): While the iconic Conn Helleberg was still around and used, the market was shifting towards the larger bores and richer sounds of the European brands.
Weltklang: A notable German brand from the era, Weltklang tubas (like the Model 101) were mass-sold in the U.S. and known for their distinctive sound, though often seen as a step towards the newer styles.
Why the Shift?
By the late 70s, American orchestras sought bigger, bolder sounds, leading to a preference for larger, often 5 or 6-valve, tubas with wider bores (like CC or F tubas) from German makers, moving away from some of the older American 4-valve BBb or CC models.

Bonus Question 1: Why is that no longer the most common horn in use today?
I think that my choice is still very common, but probably not the most common. There are far more choices now. But, Miraphone seems to produce very consistent quality horns.

Bonus Question 2: What would be your birth year tuba?

Miraphone. Not sure if they were manufacturing this model back then, but my favorite horn that I’ve owned and/or played, was an older Miraphone 188-5U, with, depending on what genre I was playing, PT42 and PT50 mouthpieces. If they indeed manufactured that model in my birth year, that would be my birth year tuba choice.

arpthark wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:10 am
AI sure loves to make stuff up! Some of that is accurate to my knowledge, but just to go through point-by-point:

- The Besson New Standard was not available in the late 70s, having been replaced by the Sovereigns at that point.
- Miraphone just made one (two if you count the CC and BBb) Kaiser model (190).
- Bohland & Fuchs was not part of B&S. It was more or less absorbed by the CSSR state apparatus Cerveny/Amati.
- B&S does not stand for "Böhm & Sohn." It's Blechblas- und-Signalinstrumente.
- Conn is not related to York.
- I don't think Weltklang was available in the US as such unless it was from Custom... they are a B&S stencil.

graybach wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 8:20 am
I was born in the late 70s. I thought this would be a good question for AI.

tubatodd wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 2:28 pm

graybach wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 8:20 am
I was born in the late 70s. I thought this would be a good question for AI.

Oh no...

ronr wrote: Thu Jan 15, 2026 10:42 pm Not a tuba, but I bought a Kay bass, Chubby Jackson model, with a manufacture date of 1956.

I also have a 1960 186, as rhats close.

bloke wrote: Fri Jan 16, 2026 8:59 am

ronr wrote: Thu Jan 15, 2026 10:42 pm Not a tuba, but I bought a Kay bass, Chubby Jackson model, with a manufacture date of 1956.

I also have a 1960 186, as rhats close.

I picked up one that was made in 47 or so which predated it being called Chubby Jackson. Of course today it's called that... at least by those who know to call it that.

When my horn-playing granddaughter was very small, she pushed it over and knocked the neck off of it. It didn't damage it very much, mostly the neck just came unglued. I still sold it at a good profit. It had been off before, wasn't quite put back on straight, and this opened up the opportunity for someone - who really knows what they're doing (and or has a reasonable amount of attention to detail) - to put it back on at the proper angle.

I liked the Kay strategy of offering a five-string bass:
The neck was the same width as for a four-string, whereas only the fingerboard was wider and overlapped. I believe this strategy offers the player more latitude and ability to work with five strings.