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No tuba advice, but why not sell the condo or house so you have 1 mortgage? Or rent one?

Congrats on the marriage and the baby!

hard to make a comprehensive reccomendation without knowing the whole story,but, horns and houses come and go.They're very easy to buy when you're ready.If a pile of cash would make you and your bride feel safer right now,sell one house and all your horns except the Willson Eb,which is a better horn than 98% of all tubists will ever have.When things settle down,you can always buy a new CC,if you even find you need one...free advice-worth the price .

I like MikeMason's advice but the secret to a long marriage is not seeing too much of each other. As newlyweds you may have to be pried apart with a crowbar but after the honeymoon a condo provides both of you a much needed change of scenery. Also she will be less inclined to kick you out after an argument if you have a fine condo to batch it up in.
Either the house or condo can be rented for help with your investment.
A woman usually misunderstands the need for more than one tuba. "You can only play one at a time."
I would hold onto my favorite and maybe one more. Tubas like any tool should be purchased when the need arises and then the expense can be justified. Tuba collectors risk a long running battle with the better half.

You have a family. You will be in debt for the rest of your life. A concrete fact of the American way of life. The key is not getting out of debt. The key is managing your debt in accordance with your cash flow and your tax situation. I had to sell a few guitars a couple of years ago because of drastic immediate change in personal economic circumstances. I sold the Les Paul, the Fender XII, the P-bass and a couple more and a Vibrolux Amp. I kept the 1936 Gibson L-00, the Rickenbacker 360-12 with checkerboard binding, the Epi AlleyKat (versatile as anything - properly set up sounds 1/2 way between a Les Paul and a 335 without the weight; besides, I had modded it to death - PM for details) and the two custom fanned fret guitars, as well as the Marshall, the Bassman and the Carvin bass amp. In other words, I kept the ones I both really enjoyed and the ones I make money with, and sold the ones that were purely at-home neat to have guitars; besides, the Les Paul was just too heavy, and in need of a complete fret job and hardware updates from 20 years of weekends. Good luck!

IMHO, if you are looking to sell a horn fast, the Wilson Eb will probably be the easiest to bring in the quick dough. It seems like there are always people on this board looking for one. FWIW, if I could afford it, I would want one to slot between my 4/4 F and 5/4 CC.

I have a few random thoughts.

Good musical instruments are capital assets and investments. I would advise against selling your capital for the purpose of meeting living expenses. If any horns are sold, use the money for other non-depreciating, capital investments, but not for consumer items that are, well, consumed, and lose their value.

That said, the biggest economic advantage would come from paying off high-interest consumer debt, then from buying the maximum IRAs for you and your family (thereby creating a tax advantage), then from paying down auto loans, then making extra payments on your real estate mortgages.

Do you have enough time or interest to deal in used or new horns for a profit? That's another option, i.e., use proceeds from sales to buy instruments for profitable resale, enjoying the inventory briefly while it is in your hands.

I can understand the hesitancy in parting with a Willson CC, since I have been playing one for several months and love it.

Dean E wrote:
Good musical instruments are capital assets and investments.

theyre only an investment if its used to make money right? If it were a pro getting regular gigs, then it could considered an investment.

IMO. wait it out but if its absolutely necessary, sell off the helicon then the CC.

Congrats on the wife and baby! Good luck with everything.