What are some pro's and con's of a tuba in C versus a BBflat tuba?

Question

Which is better for solo and going into college in general?

Answer 1

C tubas are great in orchestras. Orchestras like to play in sharp keys due to the open strings of the fiddles. So a b-natural is 2nd valve on a C tuba as opposed to 123, or 24 on a BBb tuba. This makes life quite a bit easier for intonation, evenness of tone, and therefore ease of playing in sharp keys. Also, tuba manufacturers tend to make the top of the line tubas in C, not BBb. Not to say that there aren't good BBb's, but there are a lot more great C tubas. For instance, it's pretty standard for a C to have 5 valves allowing you to play chromatically down to the peddle. This comes in handy with Britten, or Rozsa. BBb's usually come in 3 or 4 valve models, making the low B natural and C impossible to play. This is bad. We like to play all the notes! The bad part of the C tuba... getting used to your new fingerings!

Answer 2

Pros - a C tuba generally has a "brighter" tone, great for solo playing.

Cons - most music is written for BBflat tuba, so you'll have to transpose everything.