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I'm going to take my Tuba to get some adjustments, and I was wondering the average price it usually costs to get dents out, big and small.

Also, does anybody know the average price to get a Tuba's slides vented?

Thanks

Water Music wrote:I'm going to take my Tuba to get some adjustments, and I was wondering the average price it usually costs to get dents out, big and small.

Also, does anybody know the average price to get a Tuba's slides vented?
Thanks

Others on the board can comment on the cost of getting dents out. As for getting the slides vented, I believe you may want your valves vented. I am not aware of getting slides vented.

From a dent, to a crease, to a ripple, to a ding... I would doubt that anyone will list prices for dent removal on this board without first seeing the horn. To get a accurate estimate, someone will have to look at the horn.

However, I'm sure there are lots of examples that people can provide. Robb Stewart, a tech local to me recently quoted $300 to remove all the dents from my bell. It's a silver bell front / removable bell which is less work than an attached bell, upright horn...

Get that horn to a shop!!!!

Tim

Much of the "how much would it cost" depends on the location of the dents and the ease or difficulty that a repair person will have in reaching them.

Sorry about the slides vented. I meant valves.

And I have 2 small dents on the bell top which I just want taken out, because they are in the front.

Easy to reach=less $$$ Hard to reach, requires disassembly, dented on a guard wire=much more costly... That's been my experience. I just save up and get the whole thing restored.... better than nickel and diming it!

WilliamVance wrote:Easy to reach=less $$$ Hard to reach, requires disassembly, dented on a guard wire=much more costly... That's been my experience. I just save up and get the whole thing restored.... better than nickel and diming it!

On the other hand, if this was a case of a couple of minutes work with a "Fast Eddie" and the owner was having other work done in addition, there might not be a charge at all.

I have vented valves on my horn. I am unaware of how much it costs, but it is a really nice thing to have done if you're used to pushing and pulling on tuning slides a lot. The greatest benefit of it is being able to pull your slide out several notes ahead of the one you're tuning assuming of course you don't need that valve before that note. It keeps the vacuum from being a problem and that dreaded pop sound from coming out when the pressure is released.

Dent removal in the small form goes anywhere from $10 to 50 usually in my experienes. Actually, big ones usually too aren't that much. If it's in the bell or bottom bow, you shouldn't have a problem. If it's somewhere hard to reach, you may run into high costs. The more time it takes, the more money you're going to pay.

Water Music wrote:I'm going to take my Tuba to get some adjustments, and I was wondering the average price it usually costs to get dents out, big and small.

Also, does anybody know the average price to get a Tuba's slides vented?

Thanks

When I had the piston vented on my York Master, Matt Walters quoted me $25 for one valve and $40 for all four. That was several years ago, so I'm sure Matt would not want to be held to that price now, but I think you are looking at $50 or less for piston valve. Rotarys are a bit tricker and require more difficult disassembly and cleaning afterwards.

Dent removal can be anything from complementary to thousands. Small dents on the bell might be made nearly invisible with five minutes on a Fast Eddie, but if you want it do look new again, it will take more. Again, I think you'll be surprised at how inexpensive this might be if you are nice to your tech.

Now, restoration work that requires full disassembly, brazing cracks, fitting guards, refinishing, and that sort of thing can easily run into the thousands.

Rick "who recognizes that good techs are hard to find" Denney

60$ an hour...