red flags

[bort]

"One of the good ones"

[Matt Walters]

When I see things on tubas like in your list:

- main tuning slide trigger
- adjustable mouthpiece receiver
- bell section with stripped lacquer

I no longer jump to the conclusion there is something wrong with the tuba. Half the time a modified tuba was a perfectly good tuba that suffers from an owner who blames the equipment any shortcomings.
Changing the gap in the receiver is very critical in the response of the horn just as adjusting the seat in the car so you can see over the dashboard and reach the pedals.
If a person loves everything about their horn except one open note, then a trigger is understandable.
Lacquer strip of the bell is more placebo but if it is done and then the bell is buffed up to make look nice, then we are changing the thickness of the bell.

My red flag is if the tuba looks too good for it's age. Makes me wonder if it was a disappointment from the factory and was just left sitting in a closet.

[roweenie]

My red flag is if the tuba looks too good for it's age. Makes me wonder if it was a disappointment from the factory and was just left sitting in a closet.

+ 1

[hbcrandy]

The late Walter Lawson, the great French horn maker, told me many years ago that if I see an old horn that looks like it just came from the factory, treat it with the greatest suspicion. It probably plays poorly and no one wanted to use it. The old horns with patches on the bell from years of players' hand acid are usually the good ones.

[arpthark]

"Selling because I'm going in a new sonic direction"

read: "I don't like the way this tuba sounds."

[Tom]

"Overhauled"

and (a personal favorite...) "trade for PT-6p"

[arpthark]

There's a home for every tuba. Every player is different. "Red flags" can mean "stop and buy that tuba" or "stop and put that tuba back in the case."

Don't let the loud mouthed, self-proclaimed experts and "-ologists" stop you from trying things for yourself.

+1. My college tuba prof never would have approved of my current equipment. I love my current equipment. We can't help but let our own biases influence our recommendations - otherwise, what would a recommendation be?

Case in point: all the 4/4 CC piston tubas on the (used and new) market today. I've only played a handful that I like, but obviously these style instruments are incredibly popular for a reason - people buy and like them. Conversely: I play an Alexander that requires a 1+3 G. That would drive lots of people nuts. Maybe I'm nuts, I don't know.

[iiipopes]

My red flag is if the tuba looks too good for it's age. Makes me wonder if it was a disappointment from the factory and was just left sitting in a closet.

Indeed! Most of my brass instruments over the years have been purchased used. I have always looked for the tell-tale signs of "real" or appropriate wear from where the hands and fingers would wear the finish, slide pulls, etc., to indicate it had actually been regularly played and to get an idea of what may need attention, and bargain accordingly. I agree with Matt - if it looks too good, then it begs the question as to why it wasn't played more.

As to bloke's list: :yawn:

[ken k]

You are the beneficiary of a York Tuba which was your great great uncle third removed. Please send $200 to our Nigerian bank so that you can receive......

[Zypher]

"Best super deal!"
"Largest size"
"One of kind"

[thejester10276]

"AMAZING TUBA YAMAHA 105 SUPER RARE VINTAGE FEW MINOR DINGS WORKS 3/4 VALVES 5000$"
something like that as an ebay listing
or one of these ebay listings where nearly every component of the page is a red flag (price, india, double bell, super short tubing length in photos)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOUSAPHONE-DOUB ... xyAs9STbTp" target="_blank

[Art Hovey]

Grammatical and spelling errors in the seller's description.
Photos and descriptions that contradict each other.

[Zypher]

Only needs valve oil.

[Paul Scott]

"This horn has served me well......"

[bort]

A few years ago, there was an SNL bit about a perfume called "Red flag." NSFW, so you'll have to look it up. If that's your kind of humor though, it's pretty funny.

[Three Valves]

http://kmmc.in

You know, those guys have a hell of a football team. I pick them over Notre Dame this season.

I may have heard that they were one of the schools with a mascot controversy...??

The Fighting Hambones of BlokePlace have no such issues...

[tclements]

I might take issue with a couple of these, but I know and trust the Bloke and his opinions are very valid. I put main slide triggers on my horns simply so I can play every note in tune. I prefer the 5th partial notes with their 'natural' fingerings, so I leave the first valve slide all the way in. This makes the 1&2 notes sharp which is easily fixable when I push the main slide out. Also the low 4&5 and 2345 notes are way sharp. Again, pushing the main out fixes these notes easily. Also as pitch changes, I can fix ANY note on the fly.

Adjustable gap receivers: I've had two - I won't do that again.

New bell - 2 quick stories: 1) I had a student's mom RUN OVER his Mirafone 186. We got a new bell, unlacquered. After the bell broke in, it played WAY better (I have NO idea why THIS happened) and had an amazingly more open and freer sound with the new bell, than the old one. 2) I just put an Adams sterling silver bell on my Hirsbrunner euphonium. It supercharged the horn. More sound, with less effort. So, While I would defer to Bloke's opinion, there are other sides to that coin.

[bort]

Adjustable gap receivers: I've had two - I won't do that again.

How come? The previous owner of my WIllson put an AGR on it. I've always wondered what it'd be like without it. As far as I'm concerned, it's just one more variable to introduce. Maybe I'm not good enough to recognize it as a solution to a problem though?

[southtubist]

My Alex has a main tuning slide trigger. Of course, me and the previous owners have never used it. . . Then again, it's an old Alex and intonation issues are part of playing those. My F tuba has an unlacquered bell, but that's because the old one was toast. . .

I guess context matters?

To me a red flag would be an ad with no pictures or a price way above current market value. Also, I have learned first hand that valves needing "overhaul" means several months of work and a lot of cash. . .

[Merodach]

"Gold color. Plays great with valve oil and mouthpiece. " - Craigslist ad in NY