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I must admit, this sucks. I purchased a Miraphone 191 and it arrived yesterday and I opened the case. . . .


When UPS delivered it on it's end I cringed. I just new. I think one of the tiny lights that 'Passenger' sings about went out. Or maybe it was 50. I do know it was so depressing I just went and laid down for awhile.

But it is, what it is. Now I have to get it repaired.

The rim seems to be nice and straight. The garland is bent with the brass and rippled. I know the bell can be rolled and straightened but what about the garland? Will it have to be removed? Is it even a Garland? is it a 'krantz'? What will they call 'Marvel's Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D' now that . . . wait you might not have seen the movie yet.
How screwed am I?
I can't have UPS pay it, since they didn't actually drive over the box it is not on them. The seller did his best, so I am not bad mouthing him and I haven't asked him to pay for it. It's not really about the money, just the 'new to me but damaged before I could even play it' frustration.

It's difficult to tell from just a picture. But... unless there are serious creases where the brass is folded over, a good technician can most likely roll out the bell without having to remove the garland. You will probably see some 'signs of distress' in the lacquer when the bell is back in shape.

First and foremost.... don't try this yourself. Take it to someone who has definite experience.

Perhaps something like this could be even better:



Hup

Addendum thought: cheap beach balls don't count.. please don't even bother. Use something that is designed to hold high air pressure. A basketball is wise. Bubble wrap rolled up into a cone shape can also achieve similar results. The point is to suspend the rim and diffuse the force of impact over the entire diameter of the bell and in the direction that the bell has the most strength to resist deforming.

If the horn wasn't packed well enough, and depending on which place you bought it from (Here, ebay or a store), it might be possible to ask for part of the cost to fix it. As a seller, I feel bad if I sell a horn and the buyer receives a damaged horn.
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Last year, when I shipped an F tuba dn was looking for a beach ball (during winter time in Canada) I couldn't fin one, but I found this:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/reneg ... 0V5EeZdXI0" target="_blank

I put an F tuba in it and the horn arrived in good condition after being on a UPS Truck for about 2000 miles. And crossing a border.

My repair guy was pissed off. It's a pristine horn that will never be so again. All because it was shipped in its case, on its end.

I need to divine the future. What will it look like after repair and can I live with that? Will the bell and throat be weak and how much so?

Joe, so sorry to see this happen to you and I can commiserate as I mentioned in my post "How Would You Handle This" where a college tympanist skidded a stack of chairs in to my 184 and bent the bell, as I was holding the horn in my lap. I did some research on the repair and found only three places in the world where I could get this fixed. One of them was Tuba Tinker, who had a pristine 184 bell, so this does not count for you. The other two were Dan Oberloh, in Seattle, who started life as a silversmith and has the skill and patience to effect such a repair. And one place was suggested by Lee Stofer. He told me that Rudy Meinl's shop could do it but that involved shipping to Europe. You were my last hope! I think the problem is that the nickel silver and the brass to which it is attached will not deform at the same rate so you will be chasing one after the other as they are rolled out.

I would have done more than lie down had this happen to me. I am an old man; I don't take this sort of thing well. The agreement I reached was, that, if by some miracle the organization could fix the damage, I would take the horn back. Otherwise, they bought the horn from me and will let me know when it is fixed so I can inspect it. That was 6 months ago and I have not heard from them, yet but their check was good.

Joe, so sorry to see this happen to you and I can commiserate as I mentioned in my post "How Would You Handle This" where a college tympanist skidded a stack of chairs in to my 184 and bent the bell, as I was holding the horn in my lap. I did some research on the repair and found only three places in the world where I could get this fixed. One of them was Tuba Tinker, who had a pristine 184 bell, so this does not count for you. The other two were Dan Oberloh, in Seattle, who started life as a silversmith and has the skill and patience to effect such a repair. And one place was suggested by Lee Stofer. He told me that Rudy Meinl's shop could do it but that involved shipping to Europe. You were my last hope! I think the problem is that the nickel silver and the brass to which it is attached will not deform at the same rate so you will be chasing one after the other as they are rolled out.

I would have done more than lie down had this happen to me. I am an old man; I don't take this sort of thing well. The agreement I reached was, that, if by some miracle the organization could fix the damage, I would take the horn back. Otherwise, they bought the horn from me and will let me know when it is fixed so I can inspect it. That was 6 months ago and I have not heard from them, yet but their check was good.

deholder wrote:My repair guy was pissed off. It's a pristine horn that will never be so again. All because it was shipped in its case, on its end.

I need to divine the future. What will it look like after repair and can I live with that? Will the bell and throat be weak and how much so?

It will have a few scars, but I don't think it will be all that bad. I've had tubas that had much worse damage than that in the past, and they were repaired to look very nice. From a few feet away, you won't notice it much, if at all.

PS -- that really sucks.

Ok, my turn.

How much to fix this?

Agreed. The shape in addition to the brittleness make the Rudy bells a tougher nut to crack. Bloke is *very* accurate when he says taking a standard approach will result in subpar results. Even with proper care your tech will likely spend the last twenty minutes chasing a wave around the bell.

Bloke.. my strategy has been to massage the high spots down on the outside *first* before rolling from the inside. Thoughts?

Thanks for the help (on and off the board).

It might not be the best thing to ship a RM tuba, but it's hard to drive it home from Germany (well, or Colorado...).

bloke wrote:If the seller is less than a thousand miles away - and if it really matters - get in your car and go get it.

That's what I did when I traded the Eb for the souzy. I'm glad I did.

iiipopes wrote:

bloke wrote:If the seller is less than a thousand miles away - and if it really matters - get in your car and go get it.

That's what I did when I traded the Eb for the souzy. I'm glad I did.

Yep, but sometimes the distance is just too far to drive. New York is close to a lot of things, but it's awfully far from a lot of things too.

Just an update. The seller and I agreed on a new price for the horn that also covers the basic repair. While it still smarts to have to have it repaired it is not as painful as it was. I appreciate the seller doing the right thing and helping out.
So the horn is at the shop and I will post pics once I get it back.