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Yet another knock-off horn question...

Just curious to see if anyone has played these. Looking to replace our 35 year old Kings...simply can't afford the new name brand prices, and can work out some trade-in for cash for our old horns through a local music store. Looking to get the most bang for the buck...but obviously don't want something that is total crap.

KiltieTuba wrote:It's either a copy of the 20K or a Yamaha YSH-411.

Why not, instead of spending three grand per instrument, have your superior Kings overhauled? It'd probably cost way less and that extra money could go to other more important facets of your music program.

This is a great suggestion, and something I always wondered why more band directors didn't explore. Bottom line is you have to have some cash flow to swing that...lots of cash. As Stryk said, we have had quotes similar to what he mentions. When dealing with school owned (vs. booster-owned) instruments, a lot of options (although seemingly more logical) are taken off the table. We are in a position to trade-in horns, but not sell them. Bottom line is I like the specs of the 20K/411 better than the smaller Kings, but we can not afford the Conn or Yamaha. Additionally these Kings have had dents removed/bells rolled out for 30+ years..several with patches and hack job valve work done. Its a tough call... I do know that I want to tie the least amount of funds in a horn that gets played a few months out of the year.

LJV wrote:http://www.1800usaband.com/products/view/2477

Wow, seems like a good option. I wonder what you are getting... are you getting another King that someone traded-in for $1K...rolling out some dents, throw some plating on and push it out for almost $4K?

I'm not being a smart a**, I'm very curious. To drop $4K on something called "econo overhaul" makes me nervous. Now, if I were able to put my hands on it and play it, it may be a great option. Thanks for the link regardless!

KiltieTuba wrote:That seems like a ridiculous price, Terry. Surely, there's some company out there that won't charge you that much per instrument.

Apparently, you've never experienced the time-consuming, back-breaking work of overhauling (properly) a sousaphone. Look at the videos of an artist like Dan Oberloh or others. Don't think you'll find that tuba/sousaphone overhauls are easy/cheap.

Take a shop rate of $60 an hour. That gives you about 58 hours to do the overhaul, which leaves no room for any replacement parts, valve replating, etc. A true overhaul requires complete disassembly - not simply running some magnets through the thing. The cost of silver makes replating the horn expensive as well.

Is it cost-effective to overhaul rather than buy new? See Joe's post. The older horns are just built out of better materials with better quality craftsmanship.

Daryl