St. Petersburg tuba opinions

[Lew]

Don't do it. There are many better made tubas, both new and used, for about the same money. The biggest complaint is the valves. They are commonly rough and stick after some time and the linkage is flimsy. The new ones are supposed to be better, but I still say you would be better off with a VMI 2103, Cerveny 686, or Jupiter 582 for about the same money, or a King 2341 for a little more, or a good used Mirafone 186.

Search through the archives to read all of the opinions, but I think that one can do better.

[Lew]

It is my understanding that any negative comments on this topic put the originator of the opinion in line for threats of a lawsuit.

They can threaten all they want. Last I heard there is still a first amendment. To state one's opinion about various products is protected speech. I have said nothing about the business practices of any vendor. I have actually done business with the exclusive US distributor of these instruments and have had no problems. I still think that there are better instruments for about the same money.

[Haugan]

I played a very good St. Petersburg tuba at "the Midwest" several years ago. I play a LOT of BBb tuba, having followed a tradition adopted as a member of the "Nuremberg Philharmonic" 30 years ago. The St. Pete was a very good tuba, but when I offered to buy it on the spot, Vince said "I can't sell THAT horn - It's my demo!" (On the last day of the convention?) You can infer from that what you want. The horn that I felt was so fantastic might have been the best of several hundred that have come through his shop. I have played several since then, and none have been as good and one (three valve model) was horrible, though I couldn't determine why. I have a friend that is a former bass trombonist in Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet- he says all the Russian players use the "ST Pete" (as I personally whitnessed in Madison,WI when the Moscow Phil. played there some years ago). The rule of thumb: TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!! These horns appear to be remarkably inconsistant, but there ARE good ones out there. NOT a horn you can buy untested on reputation of it's name alone. P.S. Thanks for the "no sale", Vince- I ended up finding a 6/4 Hirsbrunner handmade BBb Kaiser tuba a year later!

[Tubatoad]

I tried 3 out at TE two years ago when I wanted to upgrade from an Amati, and nearly drove myself nuts trying to decide which of the three I liked best. Vince let me "test drive" the horn for two weeks, and I loved it. That 201N was everything I wanted in a tuba, but a little too much of it for the group I play with. I brought it back and swapped for a slightly used Cerveny 683 with a hard case. A truly sweet horn, IMO. But two weeks isn't enough time to find some of the flaws that you read about in these posts, and in reading tubenet I'm convinced that when I want to trade up, it will probably be another Cerveny or a Miraphone.

I wonder what it is about the St.Pete that keeps bringing it back up in this BB?

[Captain Sousie]

Other than the facts that the horn will dent if you put any pressure on it when you hold it and the valves feel like greased poo covered in cat litter they are pretty good horns. I liked the sound when I played a few of them and the one with german valves felt and sounded great.

As for talking you into or out of it, I can't do either one. the only thing that I can do is tell you to do your homework and ALWAYS play before you buy. If you like the sound and feel of it that is all that matters.

My 0.08 bits, and yes they are sousie bits Doc,

Sousie

[bort]

I wonder what it is about the St.Pete that keeps bringing it back up in this BB?

Seems like there's been a lot of them for sale recently; I think people want an idea of whether it's a good deal.

[Lew]

Overall, if you like the sound of the horn, buy it.
...

Sound is one aspect, but intonation tendencies, response, and workmanship are others. It is the last item that is hard to tell when trying out a horn. Whether something stands up to regular playing depends not only on how carefully you treat it, but also on how well it is manufactured and the quality of the materials that go into it. This is the one item about which other peoples experiences are most relevant. In this case there is quite a bit of evidence of people having more reliability and workmanship issues with St. Petes than with some other competing brands. Others have had satisfactory experiences with them, but the percentage of problems seem to be higher.

If someone has a St. Pete that has had the valves redone, or which has been reliable over the time that they owned it, I would think that it would be a better bet than buying one new or without a history.