What tuba do you regret buying?

[sousaphone68]

I was wondering if people would like to share any buyer regret stories about tuba's they have bought, not necessarily stories about instruments that were inherently flawed.

[marccromme]

No regrets so far with tuba purchases. But I should never have bought my Weril bass trombone. It was too heavy, and it took me about 5 years to sell it again. The new owner seemed happy over the instrument and the price , though!

[bort]

B&S Neptune. Killer tuba, but wouldn't fit in my car!

[edsel585960]

Tiger plastic tuba. Have since sold that abomination.

[bort]

B&S Neptune. Killer tuba, but wouldn't fit in my car!

Goodness Bort, come on!

Cars come and go, but a "Killer tuba"?

You should have sold the car...

Wife doesn't care what tubas I buy/sell. Wife would care a whole lot if I sold our car.

Actually, if it was a killer tuba, I'm glad I got out alive!

(Really was a VERY nice tuba!)

[The Big Ben]

The first tuba I bought was a broken down King 1140. I didn't know anything and spent too much money getting it squared away. In the end, I sold it to a middle school student at a fair price and it probably was just the ticket for the student at the time. If that student didn't get a little serious and progress to something better in a few years, I would hope that it would have been passed along to the next middle school student who thought they wanted to play tuba and all respected it and have kept in it reasonable shape. I have no idea where it is. I just hope it isn't gathering dust in a closet. I kind of regret buying it and getting it fixed because I could have gotten something that was better and didn't need any fixing for as much money as I had in it. Live and learn.

[PaulMaybery]

Might be better to ask which you regret selling, but that was not the orignal post. With a bit of tongue in cheek I can probably say that every tuba that I eventually sold, in a small way at least, perhaps I regretted buying. Lately, and comparatively, it seems like I am going through tubas like some people change socks. Most of that deals with a return to more serious playing after several decades of doing almost everything else in the music field, with the exception of playing my chosen instrument. When I made the decision to get back in the "tuba saddle" I felt a need to upgrade and move into the world of chasing after the "perfect" horn. What I find fastinating these days is how so much competition to build great instruments is steering the industry. (I'm not sure what is "driving it.") Like the proverbial "better mousetrap" it seems as if the tuba companies are all trying to outdo one another with more exotic and improved features to make yet one more exceptional tuba. And I believe this is indeed actually happening. Chinese production with its lower costs of course is serving as one of the bastians of manufacturing and I also see the euro tuba folks have geared up over the past decade and offer some great 'high end" gems. Much of my motivation is both curiosity and of course the desire to play on instruments that make life easier. (I'm not getting any younger) So. what "what better mousetrap, oops! I mean tuba will be out next year. Well, I have put my deposit on the one I am lusting for. So then ... will I be regretting what I popped for just last year? I'm not sure I need to use the word regret, but rather I am more impressed with what is on the horizon and prefer not to keep looking back. On a side bar ... I suppose I can say the same in the mouthpiece department. But life is fun, and going on these silly adventures in search of the "holy grail" of tuba gear is a hoot, but then we do leave a pile of used equipment in our wake. And much of what we have cast off will suit someone else just fine. There's my two and a half cents.

[MaryAnn]

My very first tuba was a "very old" three top valve Eb. I regretted it because it was so unbelievably out of tune with itself, (high end very sharp compared to the low end) and I ended up putting it in an estate sale. After I learned to play, I was much more able to discern what I wanted and spent ten times what I did on the first purchase, but was able to re-sell when the time came.

[DouglasJB]

My first F, won't mention what brand, the low and high registers were great, the mid register was so out of tune it wasn't worth dealing with.

[Bill Troiano]

I shouldn't have sold my 1971, 186 CC tuba. Now, 20 + CC tubas later and 30 + years later, I now own a 1965, 186 CC.

[sloan]

I don't regret buying any of them. And, now that all but the King are gone, I don't really regret
selling (precipitated by downsizing from a 5BR house to a 1BR apartment).

They were all tubas. I sounded like me on all of them (more's the pity). I'd probably still have all of them (and more) if I had room for them. But, truth be told, the King does not limit *me* in any situation.

The good news is that (mostly due to Joe) they all left me in better shape than when I acquired them. I lost $$ on every one - but I also got my money's worth along the way.

[DWEldred92]

I don't regret the purchase of my first horn, a Miraphone 1295, because I grew so much on it. But I regret not asking for a better horn to start my college career with, which would have saved me 3,000 in the future (When I bought the tuba that I now play on a MW 2145). My mom told me to buy a "cheap tuba" so I came home with the 1295, she told me this is the only horn she'll ever buy me. Then she said "oh I would have gone another 5,000 if you wanted" (I'm truly blessed with an amazing mother) Wish I came home with a MW 3450S, which still to this day is my dream tuba. Once I save another 5,000 I'll switch to one. Also my mom eventually bought me a MW 45SLP with that 5,000 I "saved" her. (again I'm very blessed) I definitely regret buying that horn at $9,000 seeing how they sell on here for way less now, but it's like new and plays fantastic.

[Donn]

Reynolds BBb Contempora TB-14. This pristine restored tuba is humongous, heavy, awkward and very difficult if not impossible to transport in small cars. Plus, I paid way too much for it. By the way, it's for sale if anyone's interested.

ooh, I was hot to buy one of those, but ended up with a Holton instead. Maybe you can get someone to pay too much for it! It's highly recommended on Tubenet.

I've regretted all of my tubas, but never all that severely. None of them are perfect, and the imperfections can lead to regret, but I have so many imperfections myself that it seems kind of unfair to go all perfectionist on the tuba.

[Uncle Buck]

That one I bought without talking to my wife first . . .

[edsel585960]

That one I bought without talking to my wife first . . .

[GC]

The first horn I bought was a new MW 25 BBb back about 1972. My prime choices ran down to it or a Holton 345. I was not in a situation to try either horn first, and for reasons I don't really remember I ended up with the 25. I was never satisfied with the horn; the workmanship was impeccable, it was built like a tank, and it could thunder or whisper, but it was stuffy and inflexible, and the tone was good but not quite what I wanted. I later found that the sound of the 345 was exactly what I wanted, but it was too late. I sold off the 25 about 5 years later and went on a long hiatus from tuba.

When I started tuba again in 2001 I bought a large CC that I knew had some issues, and I got my money back from it after a year. I then looked around and decided for various reasons that now escape me that my favored choices for the situation and the money were either another new MW 25 or one of the new (at that time) King 2341s for the same money. My past experience with the 25 soured me, and I ended up with the King. I have since played some modern MW 25s and feel they're tremendously improved from the old ones. The King was a very early production model, and it had several problems: the receiver was too large, the first and second valve slides were cut too long, the satin silver finish was attractive but extremely rough, the valves were awful until they were finally broken in, and there were solder splatters everywhere on it that were never cleaned up, just plated over. I fought the instrument for 3 years and finally sold it.

So the first time the 25 should have been my second choice, and the second time it should have been my first choice. Meh.

[DavidBalcerzak]

I bought one from India, enough said

[Worth]

That one I bought without talking to my wife first . . .

If you customize FedEx delivery to have it held for pick up you can be pretty stealthy....

[circusboy]

The first one, because it got me hooked.

[largobone]

I've only ever bought one tuba, a Conn 14J Eb just a couple of months ago. No regrets so far!

Might sell my small Eb, but it's so unique I could never find another if I wanted to

^I'm actually planning a little project with my Conn very similar to your's to hopefully be done over the next year!