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Eastman Tubas

Posted by BDSO on 1/13/2026, 12:41 pm

I'm looking at getting a new tuba (or two if the budget will allow) for my MS band. I'm looking at the Eastman EBB226. Does anyone have any experience with them? I'm sure they are better that the nearly 20 year old Olds I've been having to use. We also have the Jupiter JTU1010 (which I like), but the Eastman are coming in less expensive on the bids). We are looking exclusively at 3/4 size because of the size of our kids (we don't get big kids in band). Any help is appreciated.

Re: Eastman Tubas

Posted by WBB on 1/14/2026, 9:10 am, in reply to "Eastman Tubas"

We have 3 of the Eastman 3/4 4 valve tubas that we use exclusively for 6th grade beginners. They were purchased in 2022 and have held up very well even with students taking them home to practice. We did purchase Hercules tuba stands for the students to use until they grew and could handle holding the instrument in their lap or on the chair. We have not had any issues.

Re: Eastman Tubas

Posted by Wary on 1/14/2026, 7:36 am, in reply to "Eastman Tubas"

I had Eastman tubas. They were not kid-friendly - very precisely engineered, no tolerance for random acts of child. They spent as much time in the repair shop as in the band hall.

Maybe things have changed since I had them, which was about ten years ago, but I can't recommend.

Re: Eastman Tubas

Posted by DesertJazz on 1/13/2026, 5:54 pm, in reply to "Eastman Tubas"

Every Eastman brass instrument we’ve had was a piece of junk. Buy Yamaha or king! It’s worth the money to not have to buy another instrument sooner.

Re: Eastman Tubas

Posted by Same on 1/15/2026, 12:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Eastman Tubas"

When I got to my current school 8 years ago they had some Eastman trumpets and euphoniums. Not sure how old they were at the time, but they were garbage. The intonation was awful and the finish came off very fast, so they were constantly green and crusty. I never bought one after using those so I don't know what kind of changes they have made, but that was my experience.

Re: Eastman Tubas

Posted by ForeverN00B on 1/14/2026, 11:17 am, in reply to "Re: Eastman Tubas"

How long ago was your experience with them? We just got some and were thinking about more.

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