Trying to upgrade with little money
Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 8:32 am
Hey all,
I'm ready to take the next step in my tuba playing. I built up some pretty darn good chops on an old, beat-up Conn 12J, but as Tom Treece has told me, it's holding me back. The horn actually sounds good on the full range, but low E and F are weak and impossible to get an accurate articulation. I tend to blame myself and am still working towards those low notes, but it's obvious when I pick up another horn that it's not me.
I want to keep this tuba, since it's great for standing jazz/pop gigs, but I'd love something that could take me to the next level. I've done a couple of pops orchestra jobs in the past, and would like to do more. I'm really wanting an old style King 2341, but they seem impossible to find in good shape. A good named 4/4 piston horn would be best for me.
Besides that, there's the financial part. I don't have a lot of money to play with, and it will be at least another six months before I could look at a new loan, but I was hoping to find something that would be worth getting now, and breaking even on a sale later...likely to just put whatever I make back into that loan on an even better horn.
I tried a Jupiter 582 yesterday, and I really liked it for the price. It played leaps and bounds better than my Conn, the low notes were articulate, and it was surprisingly more nimble than my horn. It's practically mint except for a dent on the bottom bow, and he's asking $3500 for the horn.
While I think that's a reasonable price, from what I understand, the resale value isn't going to even break even for me. I don't see a lot of these horns popping up for sale on the used market, and the ones that have don't seem to have been sold. Not that I have 3500 in my pocket right now, but I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult for me to scrounge up.
I mainly do commercial music, but would like something that allows me to start looking into the occasional orchestral job, too.
Any recommendations on a horn that would be a good "holdover" horn until I can afford something better? One that will keep its value when I want to sell it?
Here's some clips of generally what I've been doing with the horn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvtt_n-sTyU" target="_blank
I'm ready to take the next step in my tuba playing. I built up some pretty darn good chops on an old, beat-up Conn 12J, but as Tom Treece has told me, it's holding me back. The horn actually sounds good on the full range, but low E and F are weak and impossible to get an accurate articulation. I tend to blame myself and am still working towards those low notes, but it's obvious when I pick up another horn that it's not me.
I want to keep this tuba, since it's great for standing jazz/pop gigs, but I'd love something that could take me to the next level. I've done a couple of pops orchestra jobs in the past, and would like to do more. I'm really wanting an old style King 2341, but they seem impossible to find in good shape. A good named 4/4 piston horn would be best for me.
Besides that, there's the financial part. I don't have a lot of money to play with, and it will be at least another six months before I could look at a new loan, but I was hoping to find something that would be worth getting now, and breaking even on a sale later...likely to just put whatever I make back into that loan on an even better horn.
I tried a Jupiter 582 yesterday, and I really liked it for the price. It played leaps and bounds better than my Conn, the low notes were articulate, and it was surprisingly more nimble than my horn. It's practically mint except for a dent on the bottom bow, and he's asking $3500 for the horn.
While I think that's a reasonable price, from what I understand, the resale value isn't going to even break even for me. I don't see a lot of these horns popping up for sale on the used market, and the ones that have don't seem to have been sold. Not that I have 3500 in my pocket right now, but I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult for me to scrounge up.
I mainly do commercial music, but would like something that allows me to start looking into the occasional orchestral job, too.
Any recommendations on a horn that would be a good "holdover" horn until I can afford something better? One that will keep its value when I want to sell it?
Here's some clips of generally what I've been doing with the horn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvtt_n-sTyU" target="_blank