After many months of persuasion the management agreed to my request for a new big horn, and I had heard so many good reports of the MW 6450 that it was at the top of my list. The $A/EURO rate was better than the $A/$US, so it was cheaper for me to buy in Germany. I contacted the factory and planned to visit and play-test the tuba that was "made to my order" before it was plated. This would allow any modifications that I might want, and would also let me compare it to the tuba in the showroom. I had hoped to do this trip in March so I could visit the Frankfurt MusikMesse and try other tubas and see how they compared before going to the MW factory. For a number of reasons (emergency dental work, finding space in the roster) this trip was delayed until September, during which time the $US kept falling.
I know the pre-economic meltdown era seems like a long time ago, but in mid-2008 the A$ was very healthy against the greenback, and this made it possible to consider buying a tuba from the USA. I contacted Roger Lewis at WWBW and he had a shipment of 4 handmade and one production model Baers coming in just before I arrived. Roger also told me that Tubadome had a production Baer and 3 handmades, so I figured that by going to the USA instead of Germany I could try 9 Baer's in a couple of days. This was such a great opportunity - even better than the option of "custom fitting" at the factory - and I was delighted that management agreed. Roger organised things with Bill Gibson at Tubadome, and was very patient with my many emails and phone calls in the lead up to the trip.
I flew into O'Hare and over-nighted at an airport hotel then picked up a hire car next morning and drove to WWBW. Roger had the 4 handmade tubas laid out for me to try and I felt like a kid in a candy store. As it turned out the production one was damaged in shipping and had to have extensive bell repair done, so I couldn't try it. It now has a new home - John's new toy
I played for a bit then had lunch with Roger and we solved the problems of the world - well the tuba world anyway. I spent a long afternoon playing the tubas and found them all pretty good, I was surprised at how consistent they were. I was able to find enough differences that I narrowed it down to 2 tubas, then choosing between them was harder. Eventually with Rogers' help I chose the horn that suited me best of the bunch. It was also a great opportunity to play many other tubas I'd heard about but not met - Thor, PCK, 1291 etc. By this time it was 7pm and my tiny brain was overloaded, and jet-lag wasn't helping either.
The next morning Roger met me at Tubadome (about 26 miles down the road) with the pick of yesterday's horns, and I met Bill Gibson and his line up of great tubas. I preferred the handmade Baers to the production model, but I was in the very fortunate position of spending someone else's money so I didn't have to take the price difference into account. 2 of the handmades had been around to conferences and shows for a bit, but there was a new handmade that had just arrived that I really liked. It seemed a bit lighter and more responsive. I was getting a little confused with trying horns in different acoustics, and Bill generously allowed me to take that tuba back to WWBW where I felt more familiar with the acoustic in the demo room. While I was at TD I was able to try the Kodiak F and also a great prototype piston BBb.
So after another lunch where we solved the rest of the problems of the world, Roger and I went back to WWBW and compared the "best of day 1" against the "best of day 2", and in the end the Baer from Tubadome was "the one". Roger was the first to pick it, and was completely unselfish in doing so. He was also kind enough to take "my new tuba" back east to Bill which allowed me to drive west to Chicago.
When I got home to Australia I was keen to have the tuba in my hands as soon as possible, but no story can be all good, and there was frustration yet to come. In the time it took to get the paperwork processed through the orchestra's accounts department and the instruction sent to the bank to wire the money, the A$ had collapsed in value against the $US. It went from 80c to 64c in less than a week, taking the price from A$29,500 to A$37,000. This meant that the whole idea of buying the tuba at all was thrown up in the air, as the management were seriously concerned about the budget. In the end there was 3 months of anxiety for me, with every small improvement in the exchange rate I was asking the finance guy if we could "press the green button". I'm sure the management got very sick of me, but through all this time Bill Gibson was very understanding and fantastically patient. In the end the green button was pushed and "my" Baer left Tubadome just before Christmas. It landed in Perth 10 minutes before 2009, and I finally was able to pick it up on Jan 9, 4 months after I chose it. The whole thing was an emotional roller-coaster for me, the excitement of buying a great new tuba, then feeling like a kid who's told his birthday might be cancelled, then the relief and joy of finding that it's been rolled into a super-sized Christmas. There was plenty of time to wonder if the tuba was as good as I remembered it, and if it would sound as good in the hall as I think it did in the demo room. In the end I am delighted, and appreciate how very fortunate I am to be able to play on such a great tuba without having to try and pay for it
I would like to pay tribute to Roger and Bill, the level of service and co-operation from them was extraordinary and I thank them both for "going the extra mile". At every stage they were both concerned with only one thing - ensuring that I chose the tuba I wanted. I cannot recommend them highly enough!
