Dave, and of course all the others...
why does the range of what we disscuss here, not corespond with the range chart on the vsl site:
Range of the Contrabass tuba: A0 – B3:
http://www.vsl.co.at/en-us/70/3139/3153/3156/5507.vsl
On the vsl chart the lowest pedal is an Ab0. But the lowest pedal on a Kontrabasstuba is a Bb-1, which is a seventh lower then what the vsl range chart is showing.
Also found the following info, who exactly says what you already stated. Also the 8 Hertz organ pipe in Sidney is mentioned, and the information on this site seems to be how it really is:
http://www.contrabass.com/pages/frequency.html
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Well many instruments have extremes of range that would be outside any general guidance as to range. Certainly with the tuba the more extreme the range the more difficult it is for players to play and the less musical the quality of the sound. Only a small handfull of tuba virtuosis can achieve the extreme range.
Take the trumpet. There is a recent release by Malcolm McNab http://www.malcolmmcnab.com/exquisite.html where he plays the entire Tchaik violin concerto at pitch the highest notes are around C7 and in the cadenza he goes down to C1. The lower two to three octaves are "faked" and there musical worth is questionable but you won't find any range guide iwth the trumpet having a six octave range.
The lowest sensible note on a Bb trumpet with three valves is E3 but players can achieve the pedal register Bb2 to E2 and fake lower notes but there musical value is questionable.
The highest notes on an Eb tuba is usually around Bb4 but some players can go up to F5 and if you sing falsetto into the tuba you can fake higher notes but again these xtremes are of questionable value.
There is no exactly precise answer when it comes to range. Not only does it depend on the ability of the performer but it also, particularly in the case of the tuba, depends what instrument he's playing. tuba in F, Eb, CC, BBb.
So any range guide has to compromise with averages. In my view the average range for a proffesional tuba player of consistent musical value would be C1 to G4.
It maybe that these possible extremes of register and the ability to fake extreme lower notes is peculiar to brass.
As I always say, if you want to explore the extremes of register you have to know the individual player your writing for.
The Malcolm McNab CD is an absolute must - astonishing.