What's the deal with Chinese tubas?

[Tuba Guy Dave]

Well, since we're doing this again, here's another one. Tucker HS is in Richmond (I lived there seven years). Tom McGrady (Mack Brass) is just down in Colonial Heights. Go down and play some tubas and see for yourself what you think.

(The stuff about techs refusing to work on them and about getting parts are red herrings. There is a tech near me that isn't as good as the people who help me who won't work on them, but every one of his competitors will. And the one time I needed a part, Tom got it to me within a week.)

Actually Mack Brass was the sole company I had in mind. I've already tried a 210 at Godwin, and while I liked it, I plan on going with my teacher down there to make sure some differences in the feel of the rotors isn't something to be scared about and to assure consistency, which from what I've heard, isn't something to worry about with Mack Brass. I wasn't aware that techs will work on them. I assume Music and Arts or Sam Ash could repair them (maybe Tom himself can or he knows someone?)?

Ah... I say take a trip up to Baltimore Brass and spend the afternoon there. Then you'll have a better idea of what you want and how much it costs.

Hopefully I will be able to do that in the near future! Unfortunately with all of the music programs I have a hand in at school, and with both of my younger sisters having a very busy schedule, it is hard to set aside an entire day to go to Baltimore.

[Uncle Buck]

I hug trees. Until I need firewood.

But what do you think of turtles?

[Dan Schultz]

I have a couple of genuine and specific questions about Chinese instruments:

- Why do Chinese instruments - as well as their cases - smell "funny" ?
- What's the chemical that causes that odor, and is it toxic ?

Why do you see folks walking around in their towns wearing surgical masks? Could it be from the pollution that's caused by chemicals that are banned in the US?

[GC]

You see a lot of that in Japan, too, and their pollution levels are nowhere near as bad. It's both wanting to filter out germs and not wanting to spread one's own by sneezing or coughing.

They're not a bad idea to filter out the more nasty particulates, though. For smoky and dusty areas, they can be a huge help. China has become the most air polluted country in the world, and the people need all the help they can get.

[Donn]

I have a couple of genuine and specific questions about Chinese instruments:

In case it was not noticed among all the non-specific and non-genuine answers: tetrachloroethylene.

[tbn.al]

I sniffed a lot of tetrachloroethylene the three years I owned a dry cleaning business. Didn't think much of it then but now I do. When I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma one of the questions on a long questionnaire I had to fill out was, "Have you ever had exposure to tetrachloroethylene". Some quick research into the EPA's website verified the connection. Can't say for sure that alone did it but it had to have helped. Nasty stuff.

[bigtubby]

These threads are nearly as numerous (and useful) as "escort" threads on another site I visit, aren't there more constructive topics to discuss?
http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Am ... com+escort

[Wyvern]

There has been the occasional instrument from one factory (not our main supplier) of which when I have opened the box there is a bad smell (most likely machine oil), but mostly that is not the case - and recently there have been none.

I think this talk of obnoxious smells is just another tactic to try to put people off considering buying Chinese tubas

If anyone was to suffer ill health, it would be the people handling a number of these instruments everyday...and I have no fear for my health apart from watching how I lift the huge boxes in which they are shipped.

[Tubaleck]

Well mine does'nt smell,taste or look obnoxious in any way at all lol,i have played tuba for forty years now and can say this tuba has a superior sound,compared to the bessons i played over the years , it is also more in tune than the bessons i have owned and played

[Tubaleck]

In fact the only danger to my health is the wife hitting me over the head with it

[Michael Bush]

Here it is nearly lunchtime. I'm going downstairs to play my poisonous tuba for a little while.

[Donn]

Try to keep it straight - the tuba is radioactive. It's the case that emits poisonous fumes.

The deal is that the Chinese are at the forefront of recycling. We ship plastic to China - a lot of it, maybe our biggest export to China depending on how you measure - and they send it back to us as tuba cases and stuff. That involves a lot of bold and creative chemistry, and stinky.

But there's news - they recently stopped taking the stuff. The environmental disaster was too much even for China. That means a lot more plastics - "3" through "7" - aren't going back to China these days (and probably aren't being recycled at all, just go to the landfill until if and when local recyclers can pick up the slack.) I don't think that means Chinese tuba cases will have to be made of bamboo or anything, boatloads of plastic goods still going to be coming our way across the Pacific for the foreseeable future, but the nature of the plastic may change a little overall.

[Lingon]

...That means a lot more plastics - "3" through "7" - aren't going back to China these days...

Maybe there is a method for reusing in American tuba cases

[Lectron]

So they use an extremely poisonous chems to make'em bright witch is kind of ironic
as the pre-plating work is not good enough to make them really shiny and another thing.

They tarnish REALLY fast! why is that? Those chineese platings gets brown by looking at them.

[Dan Schultz]

So they use an extremely poisonous chems to make'em bright witch is kind of ironic
as the pre-plating work is not good enough to make them really shiny and another thing.

They tarnish REALLY fast! why is that? Those chineese platings gets brown by looking at them.

Interesting observation. I have seen serious problems with staining on pistons... bad enough to make them 'sticky'.

I am certain they are still 'learning a few things'.