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Somebody help me out. I have seen a number of ads recently for B&S product, including PT models, promoting them as good horns for college students. I don't recall ever seeing a Culbertson / Neptune advertised as a student horn, nor the B&S F tubas. Having played a Symphonie F myself, the only thing I found substandard about it was the valve linkages. Not that unusual. So, how is it that Miraphones are pro quality, and B&S are not? To me, they seem much more similar than different.

My guess would be that you are seeing a marketing tactic.

I think "student" horns are only mass produced/bought school owned tubas. Not a PT6, that is laughable.

So, the perception that B&S tubas are something you "graduate from" once you enter the pro ranks (whatever that means) is an aberration. It just seems like I'm seeing a number of very nice horns being sold short, and the math wasn't working for me. To each his own...

Pure marketing. There's auch bigger "student" market than pro market. They're happy if pros use them, but thy make money selling to students.

burningchrome wrote:Pure marketing. There's auch bigger "student" market than pro market. They're happy if pros use them, but thy make money selling to students.

FWIW, I'm referring to ads in the "For Sale" section of this forum.

bloke wrote:sidebar... (or maybe not?)
As B&S recedes and as Chinese products improve, the line will "blur" (and, sure) Chinese prices will climb (just as did Yamaha prices).

Since you mentioned it: Are there any Chinese mfrs who have adopted the processes and craftmanship of the "old world" or the top US companies? It seems like they have been very good at copying patterns, but do they hand-build and hand-fit the critical components like bells, pipes, and valves?

I love my 20-year-old Jupiter euph (Taiwanese, I know), but it always seemed to me an exceptional horn, not the norm. Is the Pacific Rim the new Elkhart?

New thread, anyone?