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On ebay-FYI-I know nothing about this, but price is good--Kaiser BBb Cerveny-mark

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 500wt_1156" target="_blank

This one keeps going up... I'd be tempted if I weren't happy with my Sonora.

I am very tempted to jump into the fray and offer a bid. My concerns: the red discoloration where the bottom bow join the bell and the upper bow. Also it looks as though this tuba may have bracing issues.

Otherwise, has anyone had any experience playing a Cerveny 601 BB flat? At a grand, roughly - this would be a good candidate to have re-lacquered - if it is in sound mechanical shape and is a good player.

Any thoughts from anybody?

I bought one new from Walter Sear in 1978 - picked it out of a slew of them. The examples I have played have not been consistent. The good ones were VERY good, the others not so. I miss that horn, and would love to replace it, but finding another good one after all these years might be a tall order.

The bid has gone up another $25.00 to $1075. I think I will bow out.
I wonder what makes the same brand and model of tuba - in this case a Cerveny 601- one tuba out of the line up is great, the other is so - so.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Rev Rob wrote:I am very tempted to jump into the fray and offer a bid. My concerns: the red discoloration where the bottom bow join the bell and the upper bow. Also it looks as though this tuba may have bracing issues.

Rev -

The discoloration is just tarnish. It looks like someone has had the bow of to do repairs and didn't re-lacquer that area.

I can't tell if there are bracing issues. It doesn't look like it at first blush.

From my experience, Cerveny 601 Tubas have a rich, big sound. I haven't played one enough to know about how the intonation is, but they sound nice.

Rev Rob wrote:The bid has gone up another $25.00 to $1075. I think I will bow out.
I wonder what makes the same brand and model of tuba - in this case a Cerveny 601- one tuba out of the line up is great, the other is so - so.

Inquiring minds want to know.

It's the inconsistencies that make it inconsistent. At the simplest level, I think it's just that different people built different tubas. There's a lot of handwork involved in making/assembling an instrument, and probably especially so in the communist Czech state in the 70's!

I have owned five of these over the years beginning with one from Mr. Sear in 72'.They did vary, the first one being heads and shoulders above the rest. The bass fiddle player who had to march with a sousaphone in front of me on parades and post reviews at West Point (then went on to join the Chicago Symphony) compared it to an Alexander that the first chair tuba player had played for awhile. The other four were all very good though. I bought the fourth one at Giardinelli's in NY City around 1980. I flew in from New Orleans and played everything they had. The three finalists were one of these big Cervenys, a 163, and a 164 Alexander. The Alex's had that gorgeous rich dark sound, more so than the Cerveney, but they both had alot of weird pitch issues.Plus they were 3600 and 4200 respectively while the Cerveney was 1700. I flew back with the Cerveney and played it on the riverboat that night. Still have the recording.All this being said I don't think you would get a BAD one. To me they are all good. It's just that some are Great. Of course with Ebay there's no way to try it first but I couldn't imagine getting a "brick" that couldn't be made to play fine with proper alignment and all leaks plugged. For whatever it's worth. Ed