Glad to hear you've been spending a ton of time with it!ekwjr wrote:Have had my new ST. Pete 209N for a little over a week now. The open tuning slide does not extend below the bottom bow, but is close with slide all the way out. It seems to play pretty well across the board. Sharp (like a lot of tubas) through most of the range, so you have to pull all 6 tuning slides out. Have had the nickel plating rub off from the sweat where my right arm wraps around and comes in contact with the stack.
I haven't played a lot of other tubas like most of you guys, so I can't compare it with other brands.
If it is entirely sharp, you may want to try a different mouthpiece.
Also, when I owned one (a 202N Bb) the Nickel wore off right away as well. I'd suggest putting some sort of wraps where your skin comes in contact with the nickel.
Have fun with the new baby!