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.... or have the prices on Ebay gone absolutely stupid lately!!??

I agree! I was thinking that it was the "holiday Panic".

Depends on what you're looking for. I actually thought they were extremely low lately for the things I've been buying. Before xmas...yes, they were high, but now....

Hmm, any particular examples Dan? I'm currently only looking at rotary BBbs and sousaphones, but I didn't notice anything crazy. All the usual BS, yes. Then again, I'm not very observant.

Eric

TubaTinker wrote:.... or have the prices on Ebay gone absolutely stupid lately!!??

Cheap or Expensive?

Tubaing wrote:

TubaTinker wrote:.... or have the prices on Ebay gone absolutely stupid lately!!??

Cheap or Expensive?

Expensive.

The last two Mirafones sold for over $1,200. One was an upright and the other had a recording bell. Both of them appeared to need a bit of work. In fact, I think the one with the upright bell had an altered leadpipe. Either one of these horns would have sold for $800 or so six to eight months ago.

In my current search for a rotary horn, it seems with the dollar continuing to do poorly that any used european horns or Yamahas have received a "bump up" since the new horns are so dang expensive here. I passed on the Mira with the missing valve parts and the loose bell garland - I wouldn't have bid more than about $800 anyway, just because it had so obviously been abused.

Quinn wants too much for that Yammie with all the dents also...the horn looks like it would have to be taken apart to get even the worst of them out.

Eric "rising tide lifts all boats" L.

See what I mean?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=001

TubaTinker wrote:See what I mean?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=001

Wow...I see what you mean. Unless this one is a real dog, it went for crazy cheap:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Eb-Beuscher-Tuba_W0 ... dZViewItem

TubaTinker wrote:See what I mean?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=001

Yeah, that is crazy. $500 max on that one, needs a complete overhaul or chop it up for parts...

bloke wrote: ...but SOMEone (??) is going to make $X,XXX off this repair job... bloke "just, probably, not you or me"

Hmmmm...

$1,009 for the junker Mirafone
$600-900 for a new bell
$200 for a set of bow guards
$30 for a keel
$200 transportation costs (to get horn and to get bell).. and other odd parts.
$XXX labor to repair the bottom and back bows (if they aren't cracked!)
$XXX labor to cover the 'unknowns' such as rotor problems (note that the stem is probably broken off the #4 rotor)

With between $2,400 and $3,000 invested, I wouldn't be making much profit on this one other that just my slave labor. I could knock a few dents out of it and stick a Chinese bell on it and sell it for $1,800 I guess.... but that isn't exactly what I would consider 'big bucks'.

TubaTinker wrote:

bloke wrote: ...but SOMEone (??) is going to make $X,XXX off this repair job... bloke "just, probably, not you or me"

Hmmmm...

$1,009 for the junker Mirafone
$600-900 for a new bell
$200 for a set of bow guards
$30 for a keel
$200 transportation costs (to get horn and to get bell).. and other odd parts.
$XXX labor to repair the bottom and back bows (if they aren't cracked!)
$XXX labor to cover the 'unknowns' such as rotor problems (note that the stem is probably broken off the #4 rotor)

With between $2,400 and $3,000 invested, I wouldn't be making much profit on this one other that just my slave labor. I could knock a few dents out of it and stick a Chinese bell on it and sell it for $1,800 I guess.... but that isn't exactly what I would consider 'big bucks'.

This is a good point, but it brings out another. A new 186 cost $5900 at WWBW. Would this one be as good as new with,....say $4ooo of total investment? The new owner may save a few hundred bucks and have a really cool story to tell as well about how this horn came back from the dead.

bloke wrote:no-no...

I didn't mean that:

I was assuming that an end-user probably paid the c. $1000 price and will be PAYING some repair-guy to fix it up. THAT repair-guy will end up making something...

I'm not sure that I would even pay $500 for a beat-up / no-bell Miraphone for hope of resale at a profit.

Oh, I gotcha.

I HAVE had it happen that I quit bidding on a horn and the winning bidder sent it to me to repair, anyway. Yeah... that happens.

I guess I ought to shut-up now, ... and keep an eye on my email!

TubaTinker wrote:.... or have the prices on Ebay gone absolutely stupid lately!!??

Yea they have. Oh, you meant expensive.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=002

Tubaing wrote:

TubaTinker wrote:.... or have the prices on Ebay gone absolutely stupid lately!!??

Yea they have. Oh, you meant expensive.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=002

Oh.... I would have gladly paid that except that I didn't live in his neighborhood. ... and it was 'pick-up only'. Parts is parts. Surely I would have found a use for the bells and some of the tubing.

I think people put Miraphone in the same category as York. Dan is right, though- all parts can be purchased from Miraphone. Some repair guy is going to have a pretty easy payday.

Funny thing is, a MW 25 when for just over $1500 on Saturday. It was a nice one- new series (slides in front, miniballs) good shape (Minor scratches, bell had been crunched and not fixed really well) came with a hard case. It was at $1300 until the last minute when I bid $1500 with 5 sec left and got sniped by $50. I should have gone all out and bid higher but... Live and learn.

Jeff "MW 25 for less than a 186 knockoff- there's a deal!" Benedict

Tubaryan12 wrote: This is a good point, but it brings out another. A new 186 cost $5900 at WWBW. Would this one be as good as new with,....say $4ooo of total investment? The new owner may save a few hundred bucks and have a really cool story to tell as well about how this horn came back from the dead.

Would a 186 assembled by Matt Walters, Dan Oberloh, Joe S., Da n S., (yer favorite horn jockey) be better than a factory job? Might be. You could have the mouth pipe put exactly where you want it and any other little fetishes you desire at the same time. You could have it satin silvered and have Oberloh engrave a picture of Pamela Anderson on the bell if you really wanted to. That way, when someone made a comment about the 'boobs in the back row' you would know they weren't talking about the tuba players. Anything is possible with money.

The Big Ben wrote:...Funny thing is, a MW 25 when for just over $1500 on Saturday. It was a nice one...

I thought I read in some old posts that the "Getzen" era of M-W 25s was not the best run of these horns. Maybe you're luckier than you realize, Jeff. I am also always a little wary of people who sell a lot of horns, but profess to know little about them.

Eric

WakinAZ wrote:

The Big Ben wrote:...Funny thing is, a MW 25 when for just over $1500 on Saturday. It was a nice one...

I thought I read in some old posts that the "Getzen" era of M-W 25s was not the best run of these horns. Maybe you're luckier than you realize, Jeff. I am also always a little wary of people who sell a lot of horns, but profess to know little about them.

You could be right. It certainly wasn't marketed well. If a buyer didn't know what a MW25 actually looked like, one wouldn't have known what it was. It did have all of the slides up front and had miniball linkages for the valves so it wasn't an old one. If I had won it, I wasn't going to keep it for a long time because I want a different type of horn but it would have been an upgrade for me and, possibly, at that price I might have made a little dough when I sold it.

A few weeks ago, someone asked about MW25s and received positive input. I asked if they were comparable to a 186 except for personal preference and people agreed while making comments about the sound. Seems the 25 is supposed to have a 'darker' sound than a 186 but, otherwise, a very similar horn.

Jeff "Comparing Red Delicious to Granny Smith Apples" Benedict

WakinAZ wrote:

The Big Ben wrote:...Funny thing is, a MW 25 when for just over $1500 on Saturday. It was a nice one...

... Eric

I'm not real sure about the differences between the Meinl 20 and Meinl 25 tubas. Also... whether if they were marketed by Getzen made a difference in the quality or not. One thing at a time:

1) In my research, the Meinl 25 was the same as the Meinl 20 except the bottom bow and the bell on the Meinl 25 was larger. The valveset was the same. I'm not sure when the change to move the 4th valve slide to the front came about but I'm not sure it was that way on the 25 only.
2) Getzen was the sole agent in the US for Meinl tubas for quite a while. I don't think there was any difference in quality between the horns because of this. The only thing that was different was the inscription on the bell.

This is about all I've been able to turn up on the Meinl-Getzen tubas. Don't bother to call DEG (Getzen) about serial numbers and such. I've been told that no records exist. Getzen also market the Marzan tubas. Same thing... no serial number or production records.

Maybe someone else can shed a little light on the Meinl 20 vs the Meinl 25 tubas.