Re: Worst tuba ever made?


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Posted by Steve Marcus on October 13, 2000 at 07:43:16:

In Reply to: Worst tuba ever made? posted by Leland on October 12, 2000 at 00:02:59:

We can all come up with stories of tubas that, after years of abuse and/or neglect, were only worth what T.G.I.Friday's would pay for a large wall ornament. (Do you ever stare at the poor, deceased sousaphones that are hanging there while you're eating your Jack Daniels chicken?) :-)

SO--Perhaps this doesn't qualify as the worst tuba EVER made, but it may satisfy as the worst tuba CURRENTLY made:

At a recent NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Convention, several of the well known manufacturers had tuba models on display, as they do every year, on the main floor of the show. But if one took the escalator to the lower floor to view the smaller, less costly booths, one encountered at least one booth that contained every instrument imaginable--manufactured in mainland China. I sat and tried a tuba with no brand name engraved--with my own mouthpiece. I couldn't even tell what pitch the horn was built in! It was impossible to even play a simple diatonic scale, because intonation was--well, nonexistent. Meanwhile, the smiling Chinese staff members, who were obviously thrilled to have someone actually come into the booth to try one of their specimens, egged me on to continue playing the horn (despite their total lack of command of English). I couldn't get out of the booth fast enough.


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