Buying or Obtaining your Tuba

[pierso20]

I am curious as to how people payed for their or obtained their tuba's in the past, present, or plan to in the future.

Not asking for some crazy life story or anything...but just wondering if anyone did anything amazing or crazy or funny in hopes that they would be able to afford or obtain a tuba.

Obviously there are options such as...SAVING MONEY..imagine that....but sometimes people do finance when they need something.

I do not at all fit into any categories....since I have my new F horn on the way...payed for with MY money.... (I did sell a guitar... and also TRIED to sell this set of encylopedias that are sitting in my room....why? I don't know......)

But I just wanted too see how people went about getting their horns....whether from a loan, saving, stealing maybe?? hahah

this is for fun and not necessarily serious debate...or maybe semi-serious debate???????

[ken k]

used a college loan 22 years ago to buy mine.

also on the bass trombone front. i have been able to buy cheap and sell for a profit over and over agin until i could afford the horn I wanted. It took about 3 years and I got lucky on a few deals which helped.

A friend of mine did this with motorcycles until he finally could buy the BMW he wanted, so i figured if he can do it with bikes I could do it with horns.

ken k

[pierso20]

hmm...that's an interesting idea....very cool

[TubaingAgain]

Worked my A?? off to get the money to pay for my Mira 191 5 valve goldbrass that I now have. Only way to get ahead in life is to WORK WORK WORK Have to pay to play. Doesnt matter if it is tubas, homes, cars or toys. Work is the only answer.....

[LoyalTubist]

If you are a laborer of any kind (including school teacher, counselor, cop, non celebrity musician, dentist*, or physician*) and pay full price for a tuba, you paid too much.

____________________________
* Not all of them earn the big bucks.

[pierso20]

The first tuba I owned was a 202N St. Pete....a pretty good example of the particular brand.

My grandmother bought it for me...I didn't have much decision power...she thought all tuba's were the same.....

HAHAHAHAH

Then I sold it and bought a "little" 'ol miraphone 1290........which is actually huge..haha. But I like it.

My little cerveny F that is coming in is a combo of leftover student loans and my hard earned cash. I am really ansy to get it.......

Hopefully a new CC will be in my future...but who know's when.

It's nice to hear people's horn(s) background.

EXCELLENT...........

[pierso20]

If you are a laborer of any kind (including school teacher, counselor, cop, non celebrity musician, dentist*, or physician*) and pay full price for a tuba, you paid too much.

____________________________
* Not all of them earn the big bucks.

This is true......partially.....though, it depends of course....you could still be a laborer and have money.

In other words...drive a beater and play a shiny new horn....possibly??

[keronarts]

Good post above by the Elephant on the horse-trading-up method. This probably should work with almost any type of product, commodity, or really anything that you might deal with at all. Wherever it is that you are or whatever it is that you do, just look at ANYTHING within eyesight, and, unless it was acquired through some distress-liquidation apparatus, ANYTHING at all was originally made/ sold by buying something for $.01 and selling it for $.02. That may seem damningly simple, but it's also very true -- this world is out to make a profit, and it does. In our take-charge back-row mindset, why not take the same outlook about anything you do or think of?

As for me, I got my first tuba by saving $4-5/week over five years of delivering newspapers through high school and -- poof! -- my horn appeared. Now 'tis better to work smart than hard, soooo ......

Next horn appeared as the by-product of a house sale. So will future horns. Already thinking that way. But the same buy low/ sell high approach applies. And, among other things, I have my eye on perhaps a 2265, such as our friend The Elephant works with, along with several others. Whatever best fills [A-Rod just blasted his second one of the INNING!! Go Yanks!!! ....] the vision of somehow extending the original Mirafone sound into its nth iteration. That's my personal preference. And that of course is within the general context of the greater competitive sport of Olympic-level good shopping.

Perhaps a good area of consideration in all this is the collective notion of finding a good bargain that can EVENTUALLY be pieced together [no need to feel it all has to happen in one big shot RIGHT NOW ... "inch by inch it's a cinch"; cockroaches didn't survive 350 million years by going out and making any big splashes anywhere .....] together with a good insistence on something that will give you the sound and response you seek, given the context of the type of work you're doing with the horn. First make some decisions about that, then roll up your sleeves and dive in there ... that stable of horns isn't too far away .....

[bill]

Best deal I ever got was a junk (sold for weight in brass) Boosey Imperial 3 + 1 Euphonium. Paid $1 for it and, using my shooting rest sand bags, a brick and a claw hammer, de-dented it then paid a tech $37 to fix the 2nd Valve slide. The horn's not a cosmetic gem, has played well for me for 25 years, when I needed a tenor tuba. My Hirsbrunner was a horn I needed for professional work so I found a "Trust Bank" having a "Money Sale" and went in to negotiate a 4.5% loan from a loan officer who had worked his way through college as a musician and understood the value of the horn and its quality. Paid the loan off, easily and just recently sold the horn to a good young kid player who needed a good horn. Other horns have been pretty straight across purchases but the Willson 3400S I usually play, now, was bought because, when I went to try out Eb horns, with my wife, she literally swooned when she heard its tone and insisted that, whatever other horn I liked, I had to buy this one and I could have the one I liked, as well. What a deal! We paid cash for the Willson (about 60% of list).

[MartyNeilan]

I am curious as to how people payed for their or obtained their tuba's in the past, present, or plan to in the future.

Hmmm...
Piss off the wife!

All others have had flaws that brought the price into my comfort zone...
So I buy good playing, but used, ugly, damaged and inexpensive instruments.

There is a lot of truth to what the Elephant says. Want to buy a shiny new Horn of the Month? You will pay through the nose. Find an older gem, one that has a few dents and scratches, maybe some finish wear. One that is not the "in" brand or model. Your current 1290 is probably a great example of all-of-the-above - but it still has a great sound, workable intonation, and a reasonable price.
Also, you may get a good deal on a horn because it has one or two "bad notes". Determine if there is a workaround, and if you are willing to regularly commit yourself to that workaround. Some large horns have a bad 3rd partial G and / or Gb on them. Is it worth saving 5 grand to play that G 13 instead of open? How many grand is it worth to play 5th partial E open, vs. 12?
I got an excellent deal on an outstanding horn with the 2155R (so did the guy who bought it from me) solely because G and Gb needed different fingerings. Did they play in tune with the alternates? Did they speak well with the alternates? So, once the 3 week adjustment period passes, why does it matter?

Marty "who will use alternates all day long, but is not too fond of puling slides"

[lgb&dtuba]

Used a tax refund to pay for my tuba.

It wasn't all that expensive a horn (Sanders/Cerveny) 25 years ago.

[Dean E]

No loans were used; only income from the Army Reserves and my day job.

I use a debit card for most puchases. Same as cash because the funds are debited immediately from a bank account.

First horn: Many years ago, a girlfriend bought me a Pan Am Eb peashooter at a flea market for a birthday present. She also bought a bass trombone mouthpiece from a music store which had no small shank tuba mouthpieces. I almost never played it for years until I was bit by the bug to play.

A few years ago, after researching different horn models, I used cash to get a great York Eb Monster on Ebay, cleaned it up inside and out, went to TubaChristmases and the Army Tuba Euphonium Conference; and was invited to join community bands and an orchestra. Started buying other Eb horns and a BBb Sousa for cash on Ebay also.

I have been getting used hard cases and gig bags for cash or free. Bought a lot of new and used mouthpieces for cash. Bought a practice mute, metronome, loudness meter, stand lights, dent eraser, oxy-acetylene torch, stands, tuner, books and solo pieces for cash (from Radio Shack, online dealers, Ebay).

Used a tax refund to get my previously owned Willson CC 3050RZ and flight case from a Tubenet member.

One of these days I'll pay someone for my first music lesson.

[MaryAnn]

Only ever bought three tubas and I still have all three of them.

Cash for all; already was a well-saved-up engineer by the time I started the tuba hobby.

But during the engineering degree I used a student loan to buy a piano. Sold it quite a few years later for a few hundred more than I paid for it.

Maybe in another few years after I retire I can become a Mercenary and buy and sell stuff for a profit, but for now my time is used up with working, practicing, and making a dent in the couch with my cat.

MA

[finnbogi]

I played a band-owned tuba through junior college and into university (chemistry, not music). For two years I saved the money I got for playing the tuba (quintet gigs, the odd symphony substitute job etc.) and when I had enough money to buy the horn I wanted (a slightly used Besson 981), I did.
I then kept saving a part of my tuba playing money (the casual gigs, not the ones with a proper pay cheque) and since then, I have used it to buy a bass trombone (a used Conn 71H) and - this summer - a used Fafner.
I've already started saving again, and am hoping to buy a decent euphonium in a year or two...

[finnbogi]

Welcome to the Chainsaw Operators club! Here's your goggles and earplugs!!

Thanks Bob. Since I mostly operate my chainsaw sitting in front of a big band trumpet line-up, I really need those earplugs.

[MartyNeilan]

Welcome to the Chainsaw Operators club! Here's your goggles and earplugs!!

Thanks Bob. Since I mostly operate my chainsaw sitting in front of a big band trumpet line-up, I really need those earplugs.

When I played bass bone in my college bigband, the 4th trumpet player was about 4 1/2 feet tall (no kidding.) He would stand right behind me, but his bell was right at the back of my head.
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx

[LoyalTubist]

If you are a laborer of any kind (including school teacher, counselor, cop, non celebrity musician, dentist*, or physician*) and pay full price for a tuba, you paid too much.

____________________________
* Not all of them earn the big bucks.

This is true......partially.....though, it depends of course....you could still be a laborer and have money.

In other words...drive a beater and play a shiny new horn....possibly??

No. You can still buy a shiny tuba at a discount place. Even if I were megarich I would still be the megacheap guy I am.

[Donn]

I bought mine, with cash, but since I started in my 30s and don't have kids, it's more about where to find room to store them than how to pay for them. On the money issue, though, I have not noticed any positive correlation between price and satisfaction. The only really expensive one was the one I was the most glad to get rid of, at a considerable loss (Bb 190), and I frankly regret ever having paid more than $800 for a tuba. The tuba I actually play is a Pan American Eb Giant Bass for $320 or thereabouts, I forget. A player with higher aspirations would probably have to move a lot farther up the curve, but how much you pay in the end is a function of how well you know what you want, I think.

[bearphonium]

Bought mine from fpoon, right here on TubeNet. York Master 3/4 BBb. Paid cash (well, PayPal cash). Tuba was shipped cross country (Blacksburg to Eugene) with no issues at all.

Ally"who is looking real hard at a King silver sousie but can't buy it until tax check time"House

[Jack Denniston]

I bought my first tuba from Bill Bell. After my freshmen year at IU, playing a school horn (I think it was a rotary valve King), I worked all summer at the lumberyard back home in Newton Iowa and saved up enough for a brand new Bell model MW CC with 5 rotary valves. The 5th valve was operated with the left hand. It had a detachable upright bell. I think it cost $950 with mouthpiece and hard case.