Conn J25?

[Heavy_Metal]

Don't think it's a 12J. The 12J has a larger bell with a more gradual flare than that one, and the bell on the 12J rises higher above the upper bow.

http://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/our-in ... tubas/12j/" target="_blank" target="_blank

The relationship of the bell to the upper bow looks Besson- or Yamaha-ish. It might be a King 1135, which is based on that design, but has front-action rather than top-action valves:

http://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/our-in ... ubas/1135/" target="_blank" target="_blank

Or it might be a clone.

[Closetgeek]

That's not a 25J, since the bell points forward instead of straight up. If it has four valves it's a 24J, if three it's a 20J. Given that many school systems didn't want to spend the extra money for a 4-valve tuba, I'll go out on a limb and say it's a 20J. Still a very good horn, and good preparation for what they'll find at JSU.

Not sure what the other tuba is.

The tuba is owned by a large school in Georgia. They had a pretty good budget to buy stuff with, I gather from the anecdotes. I am trying to keep this as anonymous as possible, because I do NOT want to knock our director, and the music world is small and he is a good man!

But interesting.

The bells are interchangeable though?

[Heavy_Metal]

Right. Conn designed (IMHO) a very good basic horn and gave you a choice of upright or forward-tilting ("recording") bell. I have both, as you can see from my signature. Originally I got mine for outdoor performances where there is no acoustical shell, and as a backup for my Sonora which is a German upright model. It had the recording bell which made it a 20J. Later, I found an upright bell for it which I now use unless we're outdoors with no shell- it's a 21J in that configuration.

The upright bell blends in better with the rest of a section having upright bells, so it is preferred in that scenario.

[eupher61]

One huge stumbling point here has been the $25,000 figure. What did he mean by that?

If he meant 1 tuba, he's talking a very good professional quality orchestral instrument. While it would be nice, certainly not necessary, and inappropriate, for a high school.

If he's talking $25,000 for 4 tubas (which came out somewhere in the thread), that's still expensive but much more realistic. That's getting good quality student instruments not made in China. A dealer other than a local music store may, just maybe, be able to do a little better on price, I don't know. But $6,000 each is a decent price.

Chinese made tubas could run to $3,000 each. If that's what's sought, be very, very careful of what is bought, and have a professional tubist--NOT JUST A TEACHER IN THE DISTRICT (unless s/he is an experienced tubist)--check them out thoroughly, and probably have a repair guy look at them too. You'll have to pay for those services, but it will be worth a couple hundred bucks for the peace of mind, considering the overall cost.

[Closetgeek]

One huge stumbling point here has been the $25,000 figure. What did he mean by that?

If he meant 1 tuba, he's talking a very good professional quality orchestral instrument. While it would be nice, certainly not necessary, and inappropriate, for a high school.

If he's talking $25,000 for 4 tubas (which came out somewhere in the thread), that's still expensive but much more realistic. That's getting good quality student instruments not made in China. A dealer other than a local music store may, just maybe, be able to do a little better on price, I don't know. But $6,000 each is a decent price.

Chinese made tubas could run to $3,000 each. If that's what's sought, be very, very careful of what is bought, and have a professional tubist--NOT JUST A TEACHER IN THE DISTRICT (unless s/he is an experienced tubist)--check them out thoroughly, and probably have a repair guy look at them too. You'll have to pay for those services, but it will be worth a couple hundred bucks for the peace of mind, considering the overall cost.

I like the Chinese made trombones my kid has for marching. They will get dents, and won't break the bank when they do, it's just an inconvenience, since no local repair shop will touch them, but we are getting really good at fixing them! I would not touch a Tuba like that.


Alas, back to the Tuba.
I frankly do not know why the price tag quoted is as high as it is. To impress the parents to make the kids more aware of the value?
Not sure. We have a limited amount of loaner instruments the school provides, aside from the Tubas, baritones, euphoniums (I am thinking) and the French horns, plus a really nice trumpet, etc.
The students and their parents do have to pay for their own instruments, and even rentals are not cheap by the time the season is done.

I do understand that the nice professional models are up there, the sky is the limit, I assume, as with everything else in life.

But I also have the impression that the band directors like to exaggerate a shade here and there, maybe to get more funds flowing their way (band is always on the chopping block...), or to make their sections look more special? I couldn't tell.

However, I appreciate the 'market analysis', so I can hook up with the guy finding instruments for us, maybe surprise the Band director