Posted by Patrick Donahue on July 08, 1999 at 22:33:23:
Hello all - my name is Patrick Donahue and I live in New York City: I seem to have the ongoing question on this list concerning a search for a quality BBb tuba.
I've played both tenor and bass trombone since i was a kid - in my last year of high school our orchestra director asked me to fill in on tuba out of desperation; there was no one to play it. I accepted and loved it, although i had no formal training on the instrument whatsoever. (The whole time I had no idea if I was playing in the correct octave!) Now years later, I want to get back into the tuba for the purposes of doing some music for theater, among other things.
I went to Dillon's in NJ and spent some time with the very knowledgable and helpful Matt.
At Dillons I played a horn that was a bit over my price range but was still won over by it - a Cerveny 686-4 rotary valve. I played some used horns but kept going back to the Cerveny. Matt warned me about the inconsistenties of the Cerveny's - the one I played was one that he felt was a quality one.
But in searching the archives of this list I have come across some other horns in the $3K price range that are given high recommendations, namely the VMI-2103, the Meinl-Weston MW25, and the King 2341. (I've owned a King 2B tenor trombone for years and have loved it, although I find the tone to be a bit pinched at times.) But I really haven't heard many positive remarks about Cerveny in general.
Basically, I'm wondering if there's more feedback on the Cerveny 686-4. The horn felt very good to me personally, which, I know, is the most important factor in a horn, but I keep hearing very good things on this list about the VMI-2103. (Is VMI short for something? Does this company have a web-site?) I know I should just jump in and buy the Cerveny from Dillon's (albeit for more money than I wanted to spend) but most people on this list aren't too kind on Cerveny. And not that I am buying a tuba as a financial investment, it seems that it would depreciate more rapidly than other horns.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Again, I am very much a Tuba novice and perhaps I am spending too much on a horn, but it seems counterproductive to sink money into a horn whose limits will become apparent all too quickly.
Thanks for listening to me ramble,
patrick