Posted by Rick Denney on August 20, 2002 at 11:14:41:
In Reply to: OK, I went for the .............. posted by Jenny on August 20, 2002 at 06:38:34:
When I wanted different valve guides for my Yamaha F tuba, I ended up talking with the professional instrument support person in the U.S., who sent me alternatives for free. I'd bet that there is a similar person in the U.K. who you may be able to track down if you ask for such a person specifically. I called the Yamaha USA offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan directly during my search, and was put right through to the technician who procided support to professional musicians. I'd bet you could get the same support from Yamaha UK, assuming such an office exists (and I'd be astonished if it didn't).
Yamaha numbers their instruments independently for each model, starting with 100001. Therefore, yours is the 81st 631 to be produced, which very likely makes it a first-year instrument of that series. If you can find out when they started marketing the 631, you'll have your answer a to its age. My F tuba is 100072, and I bought it at the beginning of its second year of production, as a demonstrator that had been making the rounds for the whole first year in the Yamaha booth.
Rick "who has been down this path before" Denney