Posted by Steve Inman on October 29, 2001 at 07:29:06:
In Reply to: Need help finding tuba posted by Mark on October 28, 2001 at 22:14:09:
Mark,
Welcome back! There is a link on the home page for this list for shops. Dillon Music, Baltimore Brass, Brasswind, Brook Mays are the larger shops with good prices. Dillon and Baltimore Brass seem to list (at their sites) the largest quantity of used horns.
If you used to play BBb, it will be the easiest key of tuba to pick up again. And, although there is a lot of passionate debate about which tuba (make, model, size, key) is the "best" one to use, there are professional players successfully playing tubas in all keys as their "main" tuba. So it is certainly possible that BBb is more than just the easiest one to pick back up again -- it can also certainly be the "best" choice for you to continue with as well.
FYI, in the new tuba market, there are a few BBb instruments out there that are available at a new discounted price between $3K and $4K, in either piston or rotary valves. In the "4/4" (i.e. standard, full size) category, the Miraphone 186 and Meinl Weston model 25 are two popular rotary valved horns. Then newly redesigned King 2341 is a piston valved BBb receiving a lot of good reviews. All these horns run between $3500 and $4K -- case is extra. (They all have 4 valves, as well, which is strongly recommended as a minimum configuration for BBb.)
Good luck,
Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN