TubeNet

around 15k i think

I think that I have a diverse and unique collection... but thanks to the fact that I do my own repairs/restoration, I probably have less than $3,000 invested in everything. One of these days I might spring for a 'new' horn. Some of this stuff is 80 years old. Most is over 30.

- Carl Wunderlich 4V rotary BBb (B & S stencil).
- King 1235 4 piston 'monster' bell-front front-action Eb.
- Miraphone 183-4 Eb
- Martin BBb 'mammoth' sousa.
- Martin Eb 'medium' sousa.
- Conn 36K BBb sousa.
- Conn 3 piston Eb 'monster' front action.
- Cuesnon 3 piston Eb upright.
- York/Olds Eb 3 piston 'Franken helicon'.

less than the cost of a moderately equipped minivan

I'm a cheapskate . The actual purchase price of the 3 horns I have owned has been $3540 (York sousaphone, E.M. Winston 3/4 tuba and my Marzan). And because of trades of other less worthy instruments (trumpets and trombones and a marching baritone), actual cash layout has been less than that.

Under 9 Grand for my PT6, 45S (not LP), and King Euph.

Being basically cheap, it took a lot of time and patience to get the right instruments for my (perceived) needs. I have found out the hard way that to buy cheap is to buy twice(or more times). Happily, I think I finally have the right stable of horns depite paying a reasonable amount.

harold wrote:Mike Lynch probably has the record. He told me that when he moved, they had to bring in another semi trailer just for his tuba collection.

I have about 10K invested with an aggregate value of about 30K.

From the short list that I talked to Mike about, I would have to agree. He must have 6 figures in his total collection. I only have about $20K in instruments, but that includes more than tubas and euphoniums. Almost half of that is in my "main horns," a King 2341 and Besson 983.

TubaTinker wrote:Most is over 30.

As is mine. But I seem not to have gotten the deals you did, heh, heh.

I have a shade under $21,000 invested in:

-Holton BB-345
-York Master BBb
-Miraphone 186-4U (middle 70's vintage) BBb
-B&S Symphonie F
-Yamaha YFB-621
-Missenharter project tuba, aka "soldering practice"
-Reynolds euphonium (vintage 1937 model)
-Besson euphonium (1974 slightly pre-Sovereign)
-Olds Ambassador trombone (California vintage)
-Conn 48H trombone (late 50's)

Looking down the list, the Yamaha is the only item less than 30 years old.

Frankly, I think it's a pretty good list for 21 grand. But it took years to amass such a collection.

I have less than that invested in my motorhome (where I can do all the work), more invested in photography equipment (offset by occasional commercial work), and probably a similar amount in bicycles. I have friends who have much, much more invested in their collections of hunting rifles, or fishing boats, or sailboats, or motorhomes, or Harley-Davidson motorcycles, or golf clubs, or even Coca-Cola memorabilia.

And all it takes is a Yorkbrunner and a Willson F to make me seem like a piker, heh, heh.

Rick "thinking a tuba collection has an extraordinarily high satisfaction-to-expenditure ratio" Denney

For my Besson Sovereign 981 I payed around 7k and for my 14 year old Hirsbrunner 290 I payed around 9k, with todays rates.

Together they are now worth around 20k.

If I won the lottery, I think I'd want to buy an instrument factory.

• tubas: $0 (considering buying a cheap Eb)
  euphonium : $100.00
  other horns : $2000.00 (yamaha t-bone, getzen trumpet, holton farkas french horn)
  mouthpieces: $50.00

My spousal unit thinks I have gone overboard. I guess I need to introduce her to Mike L's wife.

BTW, here is an article containing a photo of Mike with one of the tubas that he brought to the Harvey Phillips NWBBb last summer.

http://www.iteaonline.org/Journal/32N1/ ... bash.shtml

Lets see here... I've invested 17,500 in my tubas, but if I had just bought them recentely, ie since the rise of the euro, I would have paid more like 24,500. If you are patient, you can sometimes find great deals (I've bought most of my horns new but I've been buying used more recently).

And for all you kiddies lookin for freebies in college, I paid for all of these while paying my own way through undergrad. It's called working and student loans. I think there's also a couple thousand of grant money I was able to convince a financial aid department of a liberal arts school to fund for my required tools. (of which the school did not own (ie f tuba))

Jim

About $6500 to date.

My semi-spousal unit is a Class A packrat and would not have a problem with it if I spent my entire paycheck on tubas. Between us we have a plethora. Of everything, most of it his. I could live without the 20k-strong LP collection, though; I mean, you can only listen to so many records in a day....I never did understand the idea of collecting only to "have" things.

MA, whose house appears spartan until you walk into the music room.