Yamaha 3/4 F tuba for sale


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Marty Neilan on March 06, 2001 at 13:31:31:

I am forced to sell my Yamaha YFB-621 F tuba. It was purchased in 1988 and the serial number is 001032, it was the 32nd one made in this line. It is not cosmetically perfect but an excellent player. There are a number of small dents in the fourth valve tuning slide and in the bottom bow that don't seem to affect the horn. There is also a small-medium sized dent in the large branch opposite the bell that has seemed to have a slight negative effect on the intonation. All of the bow/branch dings and dent are very easily removable by pulling the bottom bow, so I have been told. The fourth tuning slide likewise can easily be fixed, I had it done once before years ago. All of the dents are gig-bag related (have since got rid of the bag), and the one opposite it the bow is courtesy of the New York City subway turnstiles when I used to carry the horn to school on my back. The lacquer is in overall good condition, but the bottom bow has lots of wear and scratches, some from a Stewart Stand I used to have on it. The bell has slight wrinkles evident under light from a previous repair. There are also a few miscellaneous dings. Master craftsman Lee Stofer has recently done some work on the tuba. In his opinion it is an excellent horn, even in its current condition. He installed new nylon valve guides, among other things. He has greatly improved the action of the valves without compromising the compression of them, and added a custom guard to the top of the fifth valve slide. He also made sure the tuning slides are very free. He has stated that is one of the only Yamahas he would be proud to own (not a Yamaha guy, normally). You can email him privately for a complete unbiased opinion of this horn. A decade ago, I had a custom loop put on the first valve slide by a different repairman to handle normal intonation issues, but often I don't even need it and just use it as a finger rest. I also had an Amado water key added to the fourth valve tubing to help get water out.
I purchased this horn new in 1988 at the recommendation on Don Harry when I was a senior at the Juilliard PreCollege. This was the second horn I brought to him. The first was good, but he thought that this one was one of the best he had ever played, as good as his. This was from the early, handmade (or so I am told) batch. When new, the intonation was near perfect and it is still is very good for an F tuba. I am confident that with the minimal cost of the above described dent removal it will again be near perfect. The low register is as free blowing and as strong as a smaller 3/4 CC tuba. The middle and high registers really sing. The horn is extremely responsive from top to bottom and is probably the most agile tuba on the market. I have used it on the Vaughan Williams Concerto for Bass Tuba several times with great success. I also have done extensive quintet playing on it. Recently, I have been playing it in a wind ensemble and a community band. It holds its own against bigger tubas and adds a nice clarity and presence to the tuba section when playing the upper octave of divisi parts. Several years ago I played it in a large church orchestra and was compliment for the 'manly' (their words) sound I had on it by another tuba player. Although the player is primary, I used this horn on my college auditions in '89 and was accepted into Manhattan School of Music and Mannes College of Music (chose Manhattan). While playing in a brass quartet at Manhattan I was once complemented by bass trombonist David Taylor that he really liked the sound I got out of it. I find that a Mirafone C4 or Helleberg 7B work good for lighter playing (different color with each), and a full sized Helleberg mouthpiece gives the horn the necessary sound for larger ensembles or just a darker tone. I am selling this horn because I have a wife and child. I no longer solo or play many quintets, and quite frankly haven’t played enough lately to justify owning such a horn when strapped financially. I ran my own business for two years and now am behind in my taxes (the IRS taxes the self employeed to death). I lost my job here in Rochester yesterday afternoon and will be moving to Tampa in a week to pursue a new one! The horn is currently in Rochester, NY but I will be moving out in a week. I am firm on my price of $3000, but I doubt that you will find a better playing 621 F out there. A new one is almost double the price. Lee Stofer also believes that 3k is a very reasonable price for this particular tuba, he was the first I offered it to but he had just recently bought another F. All I have to include with this horn is the original Yamaha hard case, in good condition.

I will be very meticulous about how I pack the horn, and I am sure it will be in the same condition when you get it that it left me. I would rather ship it via the US post office, as my mother in law worked for them for 30 years and I know that they are reasonably careful. I worked for UPS briefly in high school and was shocked at how they treated things. They also lost a mouthpiece on me once for several weeks. Email me at martyneilan(AT)yahoo.com or call me at 716-224-3883 to discuss this, I am anxious to move on this before I leave Rochester. I would prefer if you could pick it up, but am willing to ship. Below is a link to pictures of the tuba, you can double click thumbnails to bring up a bigger image.



Follow Ups: