Jr. High:
Really old Conn 88H tenor trombone (school)
Conn 3J BBb (school)
High School:
Getzen 1062FD-R Bass Trombone (which I still use)
Miraphone 186 BBb, student model (school)
Conn piece-of-sh*t fiberglass sousaphone (school)
Brand new fiberglass 3-valve Yamaha sousaphone (school)
Rudolf-Meinl 4/4 CC tuba, made circa early-to-mid 80's (my main horn)
Conn 4J BBb
High School ('90's)
Miraphone 186 Bb
Cerveny Piggy
College ('90's/'00's)
Cerveny Piggy
Kalison Pro 2000
Alexander 163
Willson 3200 F
Miraphone 186-5U
Neptune 6/4 CC
Hirsbrunner HB-2P
PT-6
Auditions ("...no one truly wins a butter-eating contest..." - Homer Simpson)
PT-6
Neptune 6/4 CC
Willson 3200 F
Currently use
PT-6
Willson F
If I had it to do over again, I would have just bought the PT-6 and the Willson in the first place.....<GOSH>
Sean Greene
Andreas Eastman Artist/Clinician http://www.eastmanmusiccompany.com/artists/
Band Director, Robertsville Middle School
DMA, MM - Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
BM - Univ. of Tennessee-Knoxville
Sousaphone, Big Orange Banditos
High School- Meinl Weston Convertible Marching/Concert BBb Tuba
College- Started on Peabody's Mirafone 186 and bought an Alexander 163 in my Sophomore year.
After College- The horn that Uncle Sam wanted me to play in the Field Band was a Mirafone 188. I sold my Alex (regrettably) and bought a Hirsbrunner HB-2P, a horn that I really liked. When I moved to Pershing's Own, I played any Sousaphone or Helicon that they asked me to. I bought my first F tuba at the age of 30, a B&S Symphonie Model. Since that time, I have owned a Walter Nirschl 5/4 CC and a Rudy Meinl 4345 CC, both horns that I liked, but never really fell in love with.
My current set up is a PT-6P CC and a PT 15 F. I am saving my pennies to add a Mirafone 186 to the stable. I really like the horns that I play, and have concluded that my German blood must run pretty thick, as these are the instruments that work best for me. I can't envision any changes for the future, but never say never....
1965-69 High School: I started late in my 9th grade year
Miraphone 186 front-bell; lacquer ruined by previous idiot with Brasso
Reynolds sousaphone; second-most-responsive horn I've ever played
Conn 20J
Conn FFP (fiberglass flower pot)
1969-74 College:
Conn FFP one marching season
Miraphone 186; several different ones at two different schools
1972 Meinl-Weston 25; chose between 25 and Holton 345; have kicked myself since I first tried a 345; sold 1977
Epiphone hollow-body bass with 1"-high action at 12th fret
Fender Mustang, Precision basses; early Peavey bass amp the size of a house
Took 24-year hiatus from tuba; mostly played bass guitars; rare pick-up jobs on tuba, baritone, trombone with borrowed horns; owned an Olds tenor trombone for about a year
Fender Precision, Yamaha BB-1000 and MX-1, Ibanez SR-1000 4-string basses
Modulus Quantum 6 bass guitar; various amps by Yamaha, Gallien-Kreuger, Fender, Ampeg, Hartke, some owned, some borrowed
Started playing tuba again 2001:
2001-02 Cerveny 601 CC; giant sound, terrible intonation, sucked air out of my lungs like a vacuum cleaner; couldn't play softly at gunpoint; sold
2002-05 New series King 2341; excellent sound, response; lousy false tones, intonation problems (1st & 2nd valve slides were manufactured too long, receiver was too large for standard American shank); many finish problems; sold
2005-2008 Conn 25J (1963); much better than average example of the breed, but heavy as lead, and carrying it up and down stairs was more than I could handle physically; sold
Bundy POS bass clarinet; gave it up fairly quickly (loaner)
Jupiter student-line baritone, terrible instrument (loaner); Jupiter Euphonium, much improved, also loaner; played in local New Horizons band
Eb antique tubas by Hall & Quinby, Lehnert, and The Fillmore Bros Co (belong to local Civil War Band)
2008 sold 25J, bought 1925 Conn monster Eb 3-valve; played it a year, traded up for 1914 4-valve Conn monster Eb in silver
Ibanez 6-string bass, far better than much more expensive Modulus Quantum 6; Markbass 201P combo bass amp; Bach 42B trombone; plan to buy cheap BBb, compensating Eb soon, sell old Conn Eb
(July 2020, coronavirus time; don't expect anyone to read this by this date, but what the heck)
2019 Bought a Packer/Sterling JP377 3+1 compensating Eb, excellent horn, best I've owned; plan to sell 1914 Monster Conn when things get back to normal; retired from playing bass guitar and sold best equipment, still have backup bass & amp; acquired ca. 1905 Fillmore tiny Eb as historical instrument; have Bach 42B trombone (1984) for sale; would like to buy small BBb for concert band work
Last edited by GC on Sat Jul 11, 2020 7:20 pm, edited 8 times in total.
JP/Sterling 377 compensating Eb; Warburton "The Grail" T.G.4, RM-9 7.8, Yamaha 66D4; for sale > 1914 Conn Monster Eb (my avatar), ca. 1905 Fillmore Bros 1/4-size Eb, Bach 42B trombone
1987-1990 (-Present)
*First euphonium* Buescher 5-valve double-bell euphonium "Skippy" (as seen annually at theArmy Tuba Conference for "Melody Shop")
1987-1994
Brand new King 3-valve baritone P.A.U.S.D. control #1472 (By 12th grade this horn had "full floating action" and was missing at least one brace...
I didn't start tuba until highschool (9th grade)
and my high school had a yamaha YBB641 which was brand new because they didn't have a tuba player (HA!). I moved in my junior year and they high school there had some sort of bell front King that was pretty good.
In College I used what they had at first (I was broke and BTW I was a rockin' bass player with green braided hair and this degree was just going to help that side of my life work out) they had a Yamaha YBB 631, at some point that valves got screwed up and I then switched over to a 3+1 besson BBb (no idea what the model# was). The I fell in love with the tuba around my junior year and I got serious about the tuba and much less serious about my rock band ruling the world and I bought my 1st CC tuba a Yamaha YCB 822. Right before my 5th year of college I bought my 1st and so far only F tuba a B&S PT10 (used). I also picked up a euph. (yamaha 641)
Those 2 horns got me into grad school and worked for a while, after a year and a semester off to go play tuba in China (where I had both horns, my bass (Carvin 6 string) and I played a Yamaha YSH 411 sousa in the marching band) I decided to sell the CC and I got a PT6 (which I still have). In grad school I bought a Bach 50GB and right after I finished I got a Bach 42.
In the Army in Atlanta I used my horns and a 20K here and there, and I used a Sheridan Eb in the Georgia Brass Band that belonged to the Army. When I got shipped out to Korea I used a MW25 until all my stuff got over there (after then I just used my own horns) and of course, my almost daily horn from April until about October was the dreaded 20K.
When I was coming back from Korea I REALLY wanted to be able to play in the Georgia Brass Band again, so I picked up a Willson Eb and I bought a big Conn 36J.
Since then I have gone kinda nuts with buying stuff, so I think I'll just list what I have now:
PT6
PT10
Willson Eb
Conn 36J (with modifications, Deck bell and some slides moved)
Yamaha YCB621 (just got it like a couple of weeks ago for quintet stuff)
Martin Stencil Indiana Band Instruments sousaphone
Yamaha Euph (641)
Bach 42 closed wrap tenor
Bach 50GB bassbone
Alexander bass trumpet in C (with Bb crook)
Carvin 6 string bass
I'm looking at getting a Kanstul contrabass trombone, hopefully soon.
8th grade-a Reynolds sousie
High school - a Holton beater until my senior year when I got to play a new Conn sousie.
College- a Conn sousie.
Played rhythm guitar (1960 Gibson ES 330), cornet (Olds Ambassador) and bone (Getzen-valve, later Conn slide) until 1991 in bars, steak houses and strip joints.
!991-bought a Soviet Army Eb, three valve rotary tuba for $10 U.S. (gave it to John Reno to hang on his garden wall)
1992- bought my 1940 King Eb,top action, piston that I play now with my:
Mid-70's Olds Ambassador trumpet and either the old Gibson 330 or a mid-70's Yammie dreadnought flat top.
I will never part with my old King and have left instructions to have it buried with me.
4th and 5th grade (1949-1950):
Holton Collegiate Cornet
6th grade:
King Baritone 3 valve top action (rented)
Jr. High:
Conn 3 valve (short-action) bell front baritone (my dad, a baritone player, bought it new for me)
Conn 3 valve Eb tuba in orchestra
High School:
Conn baritone (same one) in concert band
Conn BBb Sousa in marching band
Conn 78H F-attach slush pump in orchestra
College:
Conn baritone (same one ) in marching band
Besson comper euph in symphony band
Besson BBb 3+1 comper in brass band (their horn, ergonomically terrible)
Conn 88H slush pump in symphony orchestra
Conn valve trombone in jazz combo
Early adulthood:
Yamaha YEP-321s euph
King 3 valve recording bass
King 2B slush pump in jazz band
Late adult (current):
Besson 967s comper Euph
Miraphone 186 BBb
Meinl-Weston 2141 EEb
Bach Strad 36BO trombone F-attch open wrap
Bach Strad V-16 valve trombone for jazz work
5th grade: King Cornet (Hand me down from my older sister)
6th grade: King Tempo trumpet (ditto on the hand me down)
7th & 8th grade: Meinl-Weston 18? 3 upright valve Bb.
9th grade: Meinl Weston 20, until it was sent away to be overhauled. Then played a King 2340 with the detachable bell. yuck. I also at this time happened upon a mid 20s vintage King 1241 with recording bell in great shape. Paid $750 for it with my paper route money, and still have it today.
10th and 11th grade: Meinl Weston 20 that was overhauled.
12th grade: Went to BG to meet Velvet Brown for the first time, and she convinced my mother that I needed a CC tuba. Before we even left campus, I was on the phone with TE to have a horn shipped to me to try out. I bought a Kalison Daryl Smith CC, with my paper route and McDonald's money. Still have it.
All through HS I played some King sousas.
In college at BG, I played the Kalison my whole tenure. I also used a school owned B&S Symphonie F tuba with the 5th valve in the left hand, and a Yamaha 321 Eb. We had some oldish King satin silver sousas with the gold interior bell. Nice horns.
In middle school, I used a school owned Gibson G-3 bass. Bought a Yamaha RBX250 before my freshman year of hs, and then picked up a Modulus Q4 for next to nothing at a pawn shop when I was about 16. I play that and a Yamaha BBN5 today, along with my Kalison, and, occasionally, the recording bell King.
B&S F (KU's. This horn should only be used as a pinata)
King Sousaphone (KU has some 50-year old war horses that weigh a whole lot more than the new ones)
Yamaha YFB-822 (Again, pinata only, but I was young and dumb when I bought it)
Hirsbrunner HB21 (bought from Mike Sanders. It was one of 2 [other was Dan Perantoni's I believe] that had a heavy bell on it. It weighed a ton. I sold this horn through Dave Fedderly's shop after I joined the Navy for a down payment on my house. Anybody know where it is? The horn, not my house. I know where I live. I think.
Professional:
CB-50 (Navy's. Surveyed [trans: melted down])
Miraphone sousaphone (Navy's)
King sousaphone (Navy's)
Besson 983 (mine)
Nirschl 6/4 (Mine)
PT-606P (Navy's)
Currently, I play the 983 on solos and quintet jobs, the Nirschl every opportunity I can, and the sousaphone and PT-606P when I have to.
1990's: Yamaha 5-valve Eb (381) tuba (Brass Quintet)
Indiana (?) BBb sousaphone (paid $300 for this horn - used it for 15 years for dixieland - paid for itself 200+ times over.)
2000's: Miraphone 186 4U BBb Recording Bell - serial #6xxx
Miraphone 1291 5 valve BBb.
These 2 Miraphones are head and shoulders above all of the other horns, with the possible exception of the Besson Sovereign Eb. The 1291 is awe-inspiring - they got it right with this one, at least for me.
I bought these Miraphones recently with my Social Security checks. Since I don't plan to retire anytime soon the SS benefit is pure gravy and is the only good thing about turning 65, except for the alternative of course.
MISERICORDE, n.
A dagger which in mediaeval warfare was used by the foot soldier to remind an unhorsed knight that he was mortal.
- Devil's Dictionary - Ambrose Bierce
I expect to play all my G's 1-3 from now 'til doomsday.
