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Well I was moving my brand new PT-6PS around the house and I hear, "DING". I cringed as I layed the horn on my bed to check the damage. Luckily, there was no sign of any ding whatsoever! I have kept my PT-606PS dent free for almost two years now and I am glad I will not start off with a ding in my 6. I hope I can keep it dent free like the 606. The biggest scratch on my 606 is one that I am proud of however. Its from Mike Forbes's watch! SWEET

My first dent was when I was playing a concert at a Church in Germantown, Philly. They sat me over near a wall, and I have to empty my 3rd valve spit by turning it upside down. I gor to do that, I hear the ding, and I notice the the wall sticks out about a foot over my head. I couldn't take it, so I got it rolled out. after that, the only dents come on the bough, from when I forget my chair is turned and i lift it up and it hits the chair.

The first one is always a heartbreaker.

Tom Holtz wrote:The first one is always a heartbreaker.

I'd kill for some of the tubas I get for repair to be in that GOOD of a condition in the bell.

Rednecks....

Its a metal witches hat!!!

ANyway, my first horn was school owned and the horn itself IS a dent........ My new horn just has one little dimple that can only be seen with the correct light shining on it (its on the bottom bow). The shame is, I got that dent there before I even made the first payment DOH! there are some bad scratches but I love me horn so Im fine.

I can't actually remember a first dent on any horns, but here's a good one. Back in the 80's when I was with the Symphony of Long Island (before it folded $$$), I would leave my tuba(s) standing on its bell by my seat during rehearsal breaks. The personnel mngr. was the bass trombonist (Michael Canipe). He would announce that anyone who needed to discuss union business should see him in his office during the break. People (usually string players) would congregate around his chair to discuss business and I would notice how some of them would stand on my bell with no regard for the instrument or the person playing it. I would ask them not to stand on the bell, as it dents easily. Actually, I would ask them not to touch the horn. They would sometimes respond, "why"? Then I would explain about denting. Only once did it almost lead to a physical altercation. Other musicians leave their instruments by their seat, so why can't I? After this happened repeatedly, I finally devised a plan. I would consciously throw water from the slides all around my seat during rehearsal. By break time, I had a moat around my chair. Other musicians would see it and just gather on the other side of the bass trombonist's chair. That was the end of that problem. When I didn't have much to play and develop a sufficient amount of spit (water), I would just throw some water from a bottle around. It kept them away, and it wasn't even holy water! No more dents until the time I had the tuba in the trunk of my car and I went flying over the railroad tracks and ...!

My only dent to date, and hopefully the last, was when I was playing my Jupiter silver sousa a few years back on New Year's Eve. I beleive I was playing "Aud Lang Syne."

When I had to put the horn down to answer a phone call, I rested the sousa alongside a table in the normal upright position with the bell on top. A few moments later, I heard this big thump. I feared the worst.

When I came in, I only saw a newly minted dent near the bottom bow. It's still there since the repair guy told me it would cost about $60 to get out.

Since then, I've learned my lesson. Put the sousa on the ground and if you need to rest it on something, make sure it's sturdy and soft!

It aint yours 'till you dent it.

Up until then it's a generic new _________

Oh, it's been so long since I had a new brass instrument, (35+years!) I honestly can't remember!