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[winston]

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[Stefan]

I did my entire undergrad on a cerveny piggy which cost me $1800 used. Between money that I had and some money my grandmother gave me, I paid for it. I wasn't able to own a better horn until after I graduated and got a job as a music teacher.

If you could get a horn direct from a factory for a lot less, I guess everyone would be doing it. But I have never looked into it.

You could ask your parents to put the horn on a credit card and you can agree to pay the monthly payments.

Also, I think some of the big companies - like brasswind - may have some financing options.

Stefan

[Matt G]

1) Is it cheaper to buy a new horn directly from the factory? (I'm planning on contacting manufacturers nontheless. I also suspect that stores like woodwind and brasswind make lots of money when they sell an instrument like a tuba, leading me to believe that there is a large markup these types of items)

All manufacturers sell through a distributor and a retailer. In some cases they may be the same outfit. You can buy from some of the German and other European factories direct, but YOU have to be THERE with a check in hand for the FULL amount.

The amount of mark-up on tubas from any of the vendors on Sean's "Shops" page (with exception of possibly one) is 5-15% on average. While this may represent $300-1000, it is not all that much for them to house these horns, pay inventory tax on them, have staff to sell them, and insure them and repair them if needed.

Do yourself a favor and start talking to reputable shops now and get an idea of what they have.

2) How did you/your family pay for a horn when you were young?

Cash.

I'm applying to university soon, I've been playing for about 9 years now, and I've never owned my own horn. I'm trying to purchase one in the next coming months. (i'll be majoring in performance)

You need to talk with your future private instructor. NOW! If you were to choose on your own, you might choose out of line with what you really need. Listening to us fools on Tubenet should have taught you that.

Here is my advice. Talk to your future tuba professor. Get his/her input. Have them also talk to your parents. His/her advice will create more leverage for you. On the other hand, the school may have a suitable instrument for you to use while you solidify your career path and earn some of your own money to buy a horn. (School classes are from 12-18 hours a week full time with 24-36 hours of outside prep possibly needed. You have 168 hours per week. 8 hours of sleep a night takes 56 hours. that leaves you with 112 hours. If school takes up to 54 hours, which is highly doubtful you still have 58 hours left. There is no reason you can't fit a part time job in there somewhere, even if it is an on-campus job.)

If nothing else, don't act with haste.

BTW, contacting manufacturers may not get you very far. They usually only staff enough people to support the business-to-business operations that they have. Business-to-consumer is not at the forefront of their operations. Think of it like going to GE to buy one light bulb or GM to buy one car.

[Rick Denney]

1) Is it cheaper to buy a new horn directly from the factory? (I'm planning on contacting manufacturers nontheless. I also suspect that stores like woodwind and brasswind make lots of money when they sell an instrument like a tuba, leading me to believe that there is a large markup these types of items)

2) How did you/your family pay for a horn when you were young?

I'll answer the second one first: They didn't. Of course, I wasn't a music major.

But my niece is currently at Ohio State studying bassoon, and her family cannot afford to send her to college and also to buy the sort of bassoon she wants (which would cost a lot more than a servicable tuba). She is playing school instruments and saving her money, and apparently not doing too badly.

Now, to the first of your questions. No, there is not a large markup on tubas, and buying from a real tuba store is what you should do. But there is a large amount of depreciation on all but a few tubas (especially those in your price range). Thus, you'll almost certainly be MUCH better off finding a worthy used instrument, of which there are many on the market. For what you could earn in a full-time summer job between now and when you start, you could buy, say, a used Miraphone 186 CC. If your family will give you a place to sleep and something to eat, work your butt off and put all your money into a tuba like that.

I would probably risk the wrath of many here by suggesting that you buy a decent Miraphone 186 (or Meinl-Weston 32 if you prefer) without consulting anybody. It is versatile enough to cover all your playing needs at first, easy enough to let you be musical without having to fight the instrument, and valuable enough so that when you've progressed (financially and musically) to the point where you can and want to upgrade, you'll be able to sell it for what you paid for it. That's the secret, by the way, to why people can own so many instruments in a lifetime. They don't own them all at the same time. I am behind maybe $200 on all the instruments I've bought and sold in my life. That's a lot of experimentation and playing for $200!

Resist the temptation to borrow money for a tuba, especially now. Later on, when you have progressed to the point where you have a good chance of winning an audition, you might have to buy specialty instruments to be competitive. You want to be free of debt when that situation comes up, to give you the maximum flexibility to do what you must. Even then, I would buy used so that if it doesn't work out you can get our from under your investment with the minimum cost.

If your college instructor thinks he can't teach you because you have a Miraphone 186, find another school.

Rick "calling it like he sees it" Denney

[Chen]

I'd stay away from using credit card as the solution. The interest rates of most credit cards are way too high (10% - 20%) for it to be a financially wise option. Why not play the school tuba for a year or two and save up to buy a used tuba.

Some credit cards companies offer an no-interest period, say, 6 month, some even longer. If you can have access to it, it may work. The transaction would require use of a credit card - if you can get the seller to accept paypal this might not be an issue. Just an idea, you will need to explore into the details yourself though.

[Bob Sadler]

Winston,
To make Joe's excellent advice relevant to the Canadian situation, simply replace the words "leaf" or "leaves" with snow, and possibly the word "blower" with "shovel"

Bob Sadler
Edmonton, Alberta
30cm of snow in mid-October

[Matt G]

30cm of snow in mid-October

What's that in US?

About 10-12 inches.

[MaryAnn]

Winston,
To make Joe's excellent advice relevant to the Canadian situation, simply replace the words "leaf" or "leaves" with snow, and possibly the word "blower" with "shovel"

Bob Sadler
Edmonton, Alberta
30cm of snow in mid-October

And if you live in the Desert Southwest, replace it with "cactus removal" and wear heavy leather clothing.

All joking aside, the "buy a used 186 5U CC Miraphone" is excellent advice, assuming your future college does not have a tuba you can use.

I don't know about eBay, because I prefer to buy from individuals or stores with a good reputation. I'd rather talk to Matt Walters or Roger Lewis or Dave Fedderly on the phone, to make sure I know what I'm getting.

MA

[Rick Denney]

.3m = 30cm which is about 1 foot, since a meter and a yard are comparable distances. If I really cared I would find the equation to convert cm into in.

It's 2.54 centimeters to the inch, and that is an exact number (defined that way).

But the easier conversion to remember, and a little more accurate than 1 M = 1 yard, is that 3 meters equals 10 feet. That conversion is well within 2% error, and it's simple.

That simple conversion can also be expressed as 4 inches equals 10 centimeters (or 100 millimeters).

Thus, 30/10 times 4 is 12 inches, so you were more accurate than you thought.

Anybody converting bell diameters from European web pages needs to know this stuff! Thus, a 50 cm bell is 20" in diameter.

Rick "who remembers the precise conversions but who rarely uses it" Denney

[winston]

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