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Hello everybody!
I noticed that Mr. Alan Baer is using in Paris, a tuba Melton Ursus ... looks like a Baer 5/4 ... Does anyone know anything about? It seems a very interesting tuba ...

What's this?!? Is MiniMe finally ready?!?

Another 5/4? Cool...

Ursus is a translation into Latin of his (German) name, Baer. So probably it is not another model of tuba.

According to Alan:

Ursus is a 4/4 York style Bear tuba. Like Mama Bear. All the great aspects of the 6450 I'm a smaller package.

Nice...

After this question of one:
"4/4? What does it have in common with the 2145?"
Alan Baer replies:
"The only thing that all these horns have in common is the valve set. Everything is new, that is why it's taken a while to get this out."

Much more interesting, in that case!

I wonder how this is different from the 3450?

Anyone know anything more specific about specifications of it like bell size and height? Those are the main two things that I am curious about it.

From a quick inspection, it looks similar in style to the MW 2000 but there are a few notable differences like bracing and minor differences in the wrap of the horn.

Is this one going to cost a ba-zillion dollars, too???

Only Weril tubas cost Bra-zillian dollars.

Overpriced for something that truly just isn't that good.

TubaZac2012 wrote:Overpriced for something that truly just isn't that good.

Huh? This is a brand new model that nobody here has ever seen or played on, no dealer has in stock, and no website shows a price for and yet you're able to say that it "truly just isn't that good" and is overpriced?

TubaZac2012 wrote:Overpriced for something that truly just isn't that good.

Yes, I'm sure that Alan Baer, one of the great tuba players and master craftsman, would want to build a shitty tuba....

Overpriced? Well, what SHOULD it cost?

bort wrote:Overpriced? Well, what SHOULD it cost?

Well all MW/Buffet horns are pretty pricey, especially brand new, and this one coming directly from Baer is great, but I'm sure since that's the case they're going to stamp around $15K on it starting out, just as a guess, and sure, I know people will pay it, it's just a lot for a horn. What should they cost? About 1/3 of what they do now, new, because I guarantee it doesn't cost that much to make one of them, but that's just how it is, the dollar isn't worth anything anymore.

I'm NOT saying the horn isn't going to be all unicorns and rainbows, because most of the stuff Buffet/MW puts out is great, I'm just saying it's another horn that from what everyone is saying is just gonna me a size smaller than a Baer.

Hopefully some of that made sense.

YOU said:

"something that truly just isn't that good."

How can you possibly make a claim like that?

It sorta looks like a kinda-3450 to me (whatever, a pimped out 3/4 PROFESSIONAL LIKE MOST PEOPLE MEAN PROFESSIONAL MEANING PISTON C would be interesting as there doesn't seem to be anything in that category), but I'm more angry that something called Ursus isn't a giant tuba.

TubaZac2012 wrote:I'm sure since that's the case they're going to stamp around $15K on it starting out, just as a guess, and sure, I know people will pay it, it's just a lot for a horn. What should they cost? About 1/3 of what they do now, new, because I guarantee it doesn't cost that much to make one of them, but that's just how it is, the dollar isn't worth anything anymore.

I think $12k to $15k is a very appropriate price. Of course it doesn't cost $15k for them to *make* this tuba, there would be no profit and they'd be bankrupt. Not how you run a company for hundreds of years, as B&S has. You have to remember, that $15k price includes *everything*, including their materials, labor, other costs to produce, overhead, taxes, and then finally after all of that, profit. Honestly, I'd be surprised if they turn 1/3 of the price in profit on each horn.

Other things to consider:

-- You can bet that this is a VERY high quality product.
-- The market will support a price like this (compare to similar new horns, non Chinese).
-- Companies deserve to make profits.
-- Employees deserve to be paid fairly for skilled labor.
-- European tax rates (I think they're high? Can't remember... at the least, they aren't low)
-- A company like MW/B&S is going to re-invest in future R&D.
-- The company can leverage their name and reputation to demand a slightly higher price. That's just good business, and it's the benefit of being cool. They know who their customer base is, and frankly, it's not the $5k people.

If the basis of comparison is how much a good-quality Chinese tuba costs, then I think the same question should be asked -- how much SHOULD that cost? Honestly, it should cost more. There are real good reasons why the Chinese instruments cost what they do. And here's a hint -- it's not because they aren't built well.

tuben wrote:

TubaZac2012 wrote:because I guarantee it doesn't cost that much to make one of them, but that's just how it is, the dollar isn't worth anything anymore.

Two points.

1) Don't speak about things you know nothing about (such as musical instrument manufacturing), as though you are an expert and involved in the field.

2) You may want to examine the current exchange rate Dollar / Euro before putting forth such uninformed claims.

Do you really expect this man to think rationally? He comma splices everywhere.