Re: buying a tuba


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Posted by Kenneth Sloan on January 10, 2003 at 11:05:33:

In Reply to: buying a tuba posted by Titto on January 09, 2003 at 14:28:43:

I haven't bought as many instruments as some who have replied - but I seem to have used a variety of methods, with good results so far.

Student trombone: King 606 - purchased in person from the visiting sales rep of the music store servicing our local school system. I slightly overpaid (I knew I could get the same or an equivalent trombone elsewhere) as a way of supporting the local school band program. It was given to my younger son, Peter, then in 5th grade. He took moderately good care of it, but it became afflicted with most of the minor dings and scratches that affect school horns. Last month I had Lee Stofer revive it. It now plays great (for what it is - a smallbore tenor trombone). How can you go wrong on a trombone? Peter had become snobbish about his newer, bigger trombone, but immediately decided to use the King 606 on the Jazz Band segment of a concert the day after it returned from Lee's shop.

My first tuba: Yamaha YBB-621S, purchased over the phone from Charlie Krause, then at WW&BW. B-Stock, but other than minimal pad wear and moisture trails you would have been hard pressed to distinguish it from brand new. It has served me very well for 6 years. Last month Lee Stofer vented the valves and performed an overall CL&A. Based on recent reports, I think I could now get back at least my full cost...if I wanted to sell it.

Euphonium: for my older son, David - Yamaha YEP-642S, purchased over the phone from Matt at Dillon's. Now performing without complaint in the U of R Wind Ensemble.

Trombone: Bach 42BO purchased used from David Fedderly at Baltimore Brass. A minor issue with the handslide and a small repair bill (reimbursed by BB) to deal with minor dings created by UPS. More than adequate for Peter to use in high school band, various Honor Bands, etc. Scheduled for a trip to Lee Stofer's shop to completely iron out the one last catch in the slide. It wasn't brand new, or perfect - but I didn't pay for brand new/perfect.

Piano: last July 4th a local piano dealer had the best promotion I've ever seen: something like 120 grand pianos, all played at the same time, for the Guinness World's Record. Peter was one of the players. Since we were already in the market, he tried out every piano that matched out checkbook and his Mother's taste in living room furniture. on July 5 we walked in and bought his favorite.

Yet Another Tuba: new, new King 2341. While my Yamaha YBB-621S was a great choice to bring me back after 25 years off, i have known or some time that I would need something bigger. I spent a couple of years play testing different brands and models (but not necessarily individual tubas) until I settled on the new, new King 2341. When the time came to buy, I combined a trip to visit my Mother in Nutley, NJ with a visit to Dillon's to play test 3 2341's (I had previously played perhaps 10 instances of the new 2341, a bit more if you count the Conn 5xJ's I played before the 2341 appeared). This time around, I found enough differences to have a definite preference, and bought the one that seemed best TO ME. I believe that *one* of the three would have been the second choice for just about anyone, but the other would be purely a matter of taste. Any of the three would have been adequate, but I consider the cost of the trip to NJ (from Alabama) to have been worth it.

Helicon: my one ebay purchase (in musical instruments). I do a lot of "browsing", with the idea of being ready to spot something I'm interested in when it pops up. I have been in the market for an "impulse" buy for about a year. When an antique Eb helicon - in playable, rehabilitated condition - showed up, I paid attention. When it became obvious to me that the reserve was $500, but might not quite be reached by the other bidders, I bid $505 and waited. Sure enough, I snagged it at the reserve of $500. The rest of the transaction was perfectly ordinary (for ebay) and I've been happy with the purchase.

Piccolo: my wife plays flute, but had somehow never acquired a pic. Since we end every concert in one of our bands with S&SF, she needed one. A local music store was going out of business and I found a "3-month rental" with zero wear. The only sign that it had been used at all was a single finger swipe through the cork grease. At a "going out of business" price, I couldn't pass it up. No, I didn't play-test it.

My conclusion: lots of different buying techniques will work - as long as you know what your criteria are and honestly assess how picky you will be about details of the instrument. Different methods have different risks...and benefits.

In my opinion, if you are buying for a student the recommendations of a trusted professional are *more* important than play testing by the student. In the spirit of Rick's quote "learn the rules before you break them", I think that a student should learn to play the hunk of brass in his hands, and not obsess about what appeals to them NOW - which may turn out to be the competely WRONG choice a year from now. Buy something which is middle-of-the-road, and buy from someone you trust (either from personal contact, or by reputation). When the student has paying gigs, he can save his $$ and indulge personal preferences. Note that this is true also when *you* are the "student".



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