Posted by Rick Denney on February 23, 2004 at 13:24:51:
In Reply to: Ebay Tuba - That bad? posted by J Drew on February 23, 2004 at 11:16:06:
Tom is right. The Chinese are making progress on their instruments, but the ones on ebay 1.) may not be the lastest examples, and 2.) even if they are, the progress still isn't enough. They will likely have poor linkage mechanics, and will even more likely not play any normal western tonal scale.
There's a lot to designing and building a tuba that goes well beyond making it look like a tuba. Unfortunately, many people buy on looks, and end up losing their money entirely.
A used name-brand instrument is a better choice. Even a St. Petersburg, much reviled on this forum, is a better choice than one of these Chinese instruments, at least for now. The St. Pete may not be the best tuba for the money, but at least it's a tuba.
There are several good-quality tubas at the major stores for the same price or less than this one, and all of them would be better choices.
Rick "who thinks even a weekend tuba has to be able to play a diatonic scale" Denney