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Has anyone played one of these things?

Do they play as bad as they look?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Plastic-Tub ... Swo3pWd5KY

58mark wrote:There was a thread (do a tiger search ) where people who had played them were very negative about their quality ...

Hell! They couldn't even put the waterkey on the correct side of the main slide!

It's not the piston horn but the rotary version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Jx_xCZOLw" target="_blank

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Martin (or Holton) once made a hybrid tuba with a plastic/fiberglass bell and first three bows. They used traditional metal for the piston valves and tubes all the way out to the mouthpiece. Has anyone played one? I've heard the complaint against plastic sousaphones that they are "dead". Do players make the same complaint about the tuba version? There sure is the possibility to take a lot of the weight out. Imagine a Conn 20/24J with the bell and bows up to the valve section made out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with a modern resin.

The Big Ben wrote:Martin (or Holton) once made a hybrid tuba with a plastic/fiberglass bell and first three bows. They used traditional metal for the piston valves and tubes all the way out to the mouthpiece. Has anyone played one? I've heard the complaint against plastic sousaphones that they are "dead". Do players make the same complaint about the tuba version? There sure is the possibility to take a lot of the weight out. Imagine a Conn 20/24J with the bell and bows up to the valve section made out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with a modern resin.

I'm pretty sure Conn did make a fiberglass 22J. If I'm not mistaken I've seen a pic of a 3 valve short front action Conn made out of white fiberglass/brass. Basically a 22K in tuba form. But here is the Martin fiberglass.

I played a Martin fiberglass tuba in Tucson around 1976. It had an upright bell. It played well enough to buy but I didn't have the $800

They had a bunch of horns like this upstairs in the "tuba pile" in the Chicago Store in Tucson in the early 90s. That place was quite an adventure!

threedognate wrote:They had a bunch of horns like this upstairs in the "tuba pile" in the Chicago Store in Tucson in the early 90s. That place was quite an adventure!

I used to do business with a company in Nogales, Mexico and stopped in The Chicago Store many times. The 'graveyard' upstairs was indeed a fun place to visit. Mark passed away... the store turned into a 'drum and guitar' shop... and I understand the store has has since closed.