TubaForum.net

Sold, thanks!

This is a ZO "YorkaZO" 5/4 BBb with four piston valves in bright silver plate. This tuba had been only barely used when I bought it and had been spending the last several years in storage. Includes original bill of sale from Mack Brass (now $5495 new).

Very slight signs of use, a few pinpoint dinks here and there and a few scratches but otherwise in very nice shape. All slides move nicely, valves are fairly fast. Intonation is pretty darn good; the middle F does need to be favored up just a hair, and some 1st valve slide pulling is helpful as with most tubas, but nothing out of the ordinary. The sound is fantastic; it reminds me of a BBb version of a Thor, especially in the low end. Fast response, very agile to get around on. The size of the body is probably somewhere in between a MW 2155 and a Thor. It is plenty big! One quirk is that it is based on a Nirschl design and does have the "short" wrap-around Nirschl-style leadpipe, so you do have to sort of hold the horn at an angle while it is in your lap. The MTS is also fairly short, but seemed to slot well with it pulled out about an inch and a half.

Here are the specs from the Mack Brass website:

Key: BBb
Size: 5/4
Bore: .757 - .797
Bell: 18.9"
Number of Valves: 4
Finger buttons: Extra Large 1.25" diameter
Valve Position: Front
Valve Type: 4 Piston
Nickel silver inner and outer slide tubes
Receiver: American Shank

Includes the nice MTS-style hard case, no bag. Asking $4,500, pickup in Connecticut or I can meet you around New England or the NYC metro areas. No shipping at this time. PM or email beanhillbrass at icloud.

Pics:

Just putting this here in case anyone is looking at this horn.

I got the opportunity to try one of these tubas when I was getting something else from Mack Brass. These are fantastic BBb tubas, I was super impressed with how great the response was. It almost made me reconsider plans to buy one instead of the tuba I came for. I think the value for performance on this horn is top notch.

I wish I still lived on the East Coast, if I did I would seriously consider it. Someone will end up with a great horn.

Bump. This came with me on the recent move and survived unscathed.

That appears to be Nirschlesque.

Here's an opportunity to assure someone that the lower #4 slide is not going to bump into their left leg while they're playing it:

sho iz purdy !

I took this horn to rehearsal last night and got a ton of positive comments.

Not sure if this was necessarily positive or not, but someone said, "Boy, that thing really loves playing fortissimo, doesn't it?"

It's really easy to fill out the low end on this tuba.

If you are looking for a BBb tuba that is easy to get around on, quick response, with a Thor-like low range, this is it.

On the fortissimo -- a friend has an "actual" Nirschl CC, brought it to quartet one night, I got to try it (hilarious because someone had to help hold it) -- and that was the instant comment, "WOW that is loud!" with just a gentle tooting from me. And this one is a BBb -- !

"loud"... probably very resonant.
Somehow I ended up with an old B&M B-flat version of surely what Walter ended up figuring out how to shorten to C later.
Someone had done sort of a B grade restoration on it. They didn't hurt anything. They improved everything, but it just wasn't done as well as someone else might have been able to do. It was good enough, and I sold it to a school.
The intonation was good, and it was noticeably more resonant - or louder - than all of the C instruments of the same size that I had played that Walter built, including a really nice so-called handmade C that I had remembered.
It was everything that a Reynolds five quarter isn't.

I'd be interested in playing that tuba that you've got there, were it that you were a thousand miles or so closer. Again, it sure looks pretty.

Bump. If you want a nice, shiny, big BBb tuba for under $5k, this is it.

Sold, thanks for the interest!