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I am a 55 year old player who dropped the tuba after high school and resumed playing 6 years ago. At that time I joined a community band and bought a St Petersburg Bb tuba. It suited my needs back then, but I now play in 2 community bands, a Symphony Orchestra and a German band.
I am now in the market for a major upgrade. I want to purchase a high end horn (still Bb). I am leaning towards a good Miraphone. I am willing to spend between $10-20,000 as I believe it will be my last tuba.
My problem is that I don't want to shell out major bucks for a tuba that I haven't tested out. Does anyone know of any retailers that stock a variety of horns that I could spend an hour or so taking for a test drive?
I am in the Buffalo NY area and am willing to travels a few hundred miles in any direction, including Canada, for a chance to try a few tubas out. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Dillon Music in Woodbridge, NJ would be a good bet. Their tuba selection is fantastic, and they have ample space to test horns as well. I’m sure others know of shops closer to you though.

Dillon Music in Boston has a collection of tubas for sale. Matt Walters is the Tuba Man there. http://www.dillonmusic.com" target="_blank" target="_blank

Baltimore Brass Co. Catonsville, Maryland also has a wide variety of instrument of the tuba ilk. David Fedderly is the owner and renowned tubist http://www.baltimorebrass.net" target="_blank" target="_blank

I can understand wanting to give the horn a toot before laying out that kind of money. These stores are reasonably close to where you are. Both are TubeNet sponsors and have good reputations.

Both of those stores are awesome.

By the way, if you are willing to spend up to $20k, you are also going to have options that are not really kept in stock (too expensive to sit around on the showroom floor).

If you have as much patience as you do money, you may want to attend something like Midwest in Chicago this December. They tend to have a lot (all?) of the major brands bring out what they have.

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I'm in Rochester, and can tell you none of the music stores in our area carry any high end Tubas without taking a road trip. You could contact Hickey's in Ithaca and see what they might have on hand, other than them Dillon's is probably your best bet to play test horns. I've sat in with the German America Musicians Group out near Buffalo Pete Leas the Euphonium player took me out there. Good group, but a little too far for me to travel for rehearsals regularly, but If you need an occasional sub I could be coerced to make the trip.

The Big Ben wrote:Dillon Music in Boston has a collection of tubas for sale. Matt Walters is the Tuba Man there. http://www.dillionmusic.com" target="_blank" target="_blank

Baltimore Brass Co. Catonsville, Maryland also has a wide variety of instrument of the tuba ilk. David Fedderly is the owner and renowned tubist http://www.baltimorebrass.net" target="_blank" target="_blank

I can understand wanting to give the horn a toot before laying out that kind of money. These stores are reasonably close to where you are. Both are TubeNet sponsors and have good reputations.

Lest there be more confusion, Dillon Music is in Woodbridge, NJ, not Boston. Also, the link given is incorrectly spelled, with an "i" that shouldn't be there. I do agree that making a trip to see Matt would be the best way to go. Baltimore Brass and David are also terrific, but further away from you.

If you feel like flying to San Antonio this Thursday - Sat., and experiencing over 100 degree temps, then you can attend the Texas Bandmasters Association Conference (TBA) at the Henry Gonzalez Convention Center. Almost all makes and models of tubas will be available to play in the exhibit hall.

Then, you can attend Thurs. and Fri. nights' concerts: Air Force Band of the West and USMB, President's Own.

http://www.texasbandmasters.org/convention/2018/" target="_blank

scottw wrote:

The Big Ben wrote:Dillon Music in Boston has a collection of tubas for sale. Matt Walters is the Tuba Man there. http://www.dillionmusic.com" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Baltimore Brass Co. Catonsville, Maryland also has a wide variety of instrument of the tuba ilk. David Fedderly is the owner and renowned tubist http://www.baltimorebrass.net" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

I can understand wanting to give the horn a toot before laying out that kind of money. These stores are reasonably close to where you are. Both are TubeNet sponsors and have good reputations.

Lest there be more confusion, Dillon Music is in Woodbridge, NJ, not Boston. Also, the link given is incorrectly spelled, with an "i" that shouldn't be there. I do agree that making a trip to see Matt would be the best way to go. Baltimore Brass and David are also terrific, but further away from you.

Southwest has nonstop flights between BUF and BWI. Baltimore Brass is right up the road from BWI, so you could stay at one of the airport hotels and make a weekend out of it............

marcj1962 wrote: I am in the Buffalo NY area and am willing to travels a few hundred miles in any direction, including Canada, for a chance to try a few tubas out. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Last time I was in Toronto, the Long and McQuade on Bloor had 2 or 3 tubas (A B&S PT???? and a Miraphone Firebird, If there was a 3rd I can't recall). It's not worth the trip for just that.

I'm sure Mark (Bisontuba) will be a great help, but like everyone else I'll echo the take a trip to Dillon suggestion. If I can give a piece of advice, call ahead to make sure they have inventory and that Matt can take the time to help you.

On the flip side, I've come to find that "Buy before you try" is just fine, too. A South American friend recently reminded me as well, that for many players, buying blindly is the only option and it works just fine.

Here's the thing about trying tubas -- it's really only to decide if you want to buy it, and that takes about 1 minute. It will take a few weeks (at least) with the tuba to learn the particulars of that specific instrument, and decide if you want to keep it or try something else. I think play tests are most useful for ergonomics, reality check ("is this what I think it is"), and awesome/not awesome/okay. Again, that all takes very little time.

Buying blindly or with play testing, I have the same expectations about long-term ownership of a tuba. Maybe so, maybe not. It's just impossible to know until you put it through your personal demands and uses.

Comparing tubas side-by-side is fun, but again, not really all that necessary for about 95% of us. If you're a decent-enough player and know what you're looking for, again, it takes very little time to decide whether or not you want to buy something.

PMeuph wrote:

marcj1962 wrote: I am in the Buffalo NY area and am willing to travels a few hundred miles in any direction, including Canada, for a chance to try a few tubas out. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Last time I was in Toronto, the Long and McQuade on Bloor had 2 or 3 tubas (A B&S PT???? and a Miraphone Firebird, If there was a 3rd I can't recall). It's not worth the trip for just that.

I'm sure Mark (Bisontuba) will be a great help, but like everyone else I'll echo the take a trip to Dillon suggestion. If I can give a piece of advice, call ahead to make sure they have inventory and that Matt can take the time to help you.

Actually Toronto is a pretty quick trip from Buffalo (less than 2 hours), might be worth the drive!!

Radar wrote:

PMeuph wrote:

marcj1962 wrote: I am in the Buffalo NY area and am willing to travels a few hundred miles in any direction, including Canada, for a chance to try a few tubas out. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Last time I was in Toronto, the Long and McQuade on Bloor had 2 or 3 tubas (A B&S PT???? and a Miraphone Firebird, If there was a 3rd I can't recall). It's not worth the trip for just that.

I'm sure Mark (Bisontuba) will be a great help, but like everyone else I'll echo the take a trip to Dillon suggestion. If I can give a piece of advice, call ahead to make sure they have inventory and that Matt can take the time to help you.

Actually Toronto is a pretty quick trip from Buffalo (less than 2 hours), might be worth the drive!!

The proximity wasn't the issue, what I meant was that the tuba selection was so small and not what the OP was looking for so it was not worth the hassle of driving there (Drive 2 hours to a store that doesn't stock any of the tubas the op is looking for... All the "high-end" tubas were CC and F). I don't know what L&M has right now, but they are not a tuba mecca of any sorts. While it might be worthwhile with the exchange ( and proximity) to buy in Canada, you can't buy anything if there's nothing worth buying.

A lot of the try before you buy/ test playing is the sound and "feel" of the instrument but also, with tubas in particular, the ergonomics. Do you fit it? Is the valve block in the "right" place for you? Are you making an uncomfortable stretch to hold/ play that specific horn? Can you easily reach the slides etc? Some things can be altered by a decent repair technician but some things can't...

We are all different shapes and sizes (though many of us do conform to a certain tuba stereotype....) - that audition winning tuba de jour may be the best thing since canned beer but if it doesnt fit you (or vice versa) then it's not for you...

Yes on ergonomics. Some people can play on anything, it seems, and others are really limited by the many things that play well but just don't work physically.

I totally understand your desire to buy a brand new tuba. But.. it's not like tubas come with a 100,000 mile warranty. I've owned what I think are some of the best tubas in The World but I certainly did not buy them new.... and most likely never will. The trick is to purchase great used tubas ar fair prices and reselling them until you find what you want.

Dan Schultz wrote:I totally understand your desire to buy a brand new tuba. But.. it's not like tubas come with a 100,000 mile warranty. I've owned what I think are some of the best tubas in The World but I certainly did not buy them new.... and most likely never will. The trick is to purchase great used tubas ar fair prices and reselling them until you find what you want.

Used tubas are more likely to have all the wrong notes blown out of them already. That's why they're better.