Posted by Mark F. on August 09, 2001 at 08:27:54:
In Reply to: Thoughts on Cerveny? posted by Peter Loveman on August 09, 2001 at 08:03:08:
I have always owned and played cerveny tubas, and I have to suggest that you not get one of these tubas. Most models Cerveny still makes fit a need that is not filled by anybody else for close to the price, (like the 601) but more a 4 valve 4/4 BBb tuba, there are other choices that could be made to ge a better horn for the money. My top 2 choices would be the VMI rotary BBb, which I think is still around $3000, and the S186, which is still a nice tuba, but not as popular as it used to be. Brookmays (tubastore) has the VMI line under the name "Schmidt", but they are the same tubas.
I wish Cerveny would improve the line of tubas to make them more attractive, if you played one in college you might have hada really nice one, most of the older ones can be really nice, but quality has fallen dramatically in the last decade. The rule with Cerveny is always play the exact tuba you are considering buying, it might be great, but it might not.