TubeNet

John Edens wrote:Anyone out in Tubenetland ever played a Thein tuba?

Yes, I have. Several of them.

John Edens wrote:If so, are they even remotely close to being worth the money? (25,000+ euro if I remember correctly)

Absolutely not.

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Since it has been 9 years since I last visited their shop, I have not played a thein contrabass tuba. I have played their tenor tuba, however, have spent many hours performing on my Thein bass trombone, and have played on most of the rest of their line of instruments. Is it worth the price? That depends upon the individual player. In 1987, I paid over $3,000.00 for my bass trombone, and have never regretted one cent of it - in fact, I think it is one of the best investment decisions I've ever made. I'm don't know exactly what sort of alloys they use, but this rose brass instrument seems to be virtually corrosion-proof, rarely needing a cleaning the way typical instruments do. The way to make buying an instrument like this pay off, is to visit the Theins and discuss exactly what you want in a tuba (or any other instrument). One of the Thein brothers spoke with me at length several times before he and his brother started building my bass trombone - you see, a factory custom instrument is the norm there. They will build anything you want, as long as you're willing to pay for it. My Thein bass trombone has been a joy to pull out of the case and play, every time, for 17 years now.
If you are interested in a Thein, Newell Sheridan in Birmingham, Alabama is a Thein dealer, and could provide valuable assistance.

I know three guys who own and play Thein bass trombones on a daily basis. In a word, the instruments are wildly inconsistent: one of them is an OK horn, but the player is extremely enthusiastic about it, as he is a Thein representative. The second player's horn is so-so, and the third's is an absolute dog, although he is by far the best player of the three.

Despite numerous trips to Bremen for modifications / tweaking, none of these horns seem to be getting any better, despite their owners' efforts, + a ton of dough.

And this is for trombones, which the Thein bros. make a lot of. Since they've only made a handful of tubas, it's fair to say that each instrument is an expensive crap shoot.

Buyer beware!

tubazar wrote:Heindrich von Rheines does use the Contra Bass on a regular basis.

Hmmm. Wonder if he's related to Hendrik-Jan Renes?

tubazar wrote:Thein is more well known for their trombones and trumpets

Actually, the Thein family has been building various types of keyboard instruments (and later pianos) for almost 400 years. They've only been making brass instruments the last 30.

UncleBeer: Let's try not to go off the deep end in an attempt to defend ourselves. OK? I, too, make spelling mistakes sometime. When I do, I tend to get annoyed when someone has to point them out. The simple fact is that if I don't want to see the wisecracks, I have to avoid the mistakes. Otherwise, someone is going to get their jollies at my expense. That's just the way it is.

TubaRay wrote: Let's try not to go off the deep end in an attempt to defend ourselves. OK?

Golly, TubaRay, thanks for the unsolicited life-lesson.

I found Tubazar's spelling too bizarre to be helpful or even recognizable.

a Thein tuba is like a Fodera bass.. they're not regular production models, they're taylored to the player's specifications. It's really only a crapshoot if you don't know what you're getting into... There aren't many custom tubas around, but I've seen COUNTLESS bass players bitch and moan about the low quality of their "custom" bass(either upright or electric) when it really all boiled down to one of two variables:

A)the person didn't know how to order the instrument.
or
B)the person didn't know how to play the instrument they ordered(really just an aftereffect of variable A).

I've played two Thein bass trombones, both very different, both owned by players who adored them, and both leagues and bounds beyond any other brass I've played. I've never played a Thein tuba but I'd really like to!

My apologies, UncleBeer. I meant to direct my comments to tubazar, whose use of letter lingo demonstrated to all that he is not a typical tuba player. Now I know he may not wish to be like a typical tuba player, and that is his call. To explain myself, the typical tuba player doesn't get all bent out of shape because someone happens to correct him on something. Stereotypically, that is for trumpet players. Isn't it? I, for one, also appreciate those who have a more civil vocabulary and who know how to use it.

It's rather difficult to understand how we have gone down this road on a thread titled: "Thein."

It's rather difficult to understand how we have gone down this road on a thread titled: "Thein."

This thread is more like the old Tubenet than the new, kinder, gentler Tubenet.

Your non-existent apology is accepted.

tubazar wrote:Ill buy you a frosty mug.

Well, a 'frosty mug' is always nice, but I'd rather have some beer in it.