Horns you regret selling

[The Big Ben]

I had a King 1140 that I sold too cheap and lost a bunch of money on that I wish I still had... Not that it was such a wonderful horn, although it did play well... I now have a similar horn that is fun to use for informal stuff like playing in my school's pep band... I kinda have too much in this horn, too...

Oh, well...

[bort]

I sometimes wish I still had my Miraphone 1291, although I don't regret selling it. I was listening to some recordings of my groups this weekend, and I have fond memories of playing it. I sold it for the right reasons, but know it'd be "old hat" to pick it up again. It makes me feel good to know a far better player than I now owns this tuba.

On the flip side, the horn I regret not buying was an *awesome* Miraphone 188 I borrowed from a nameless "pro" in Innsbruck, Austria. If I could find that tuba, I'd buy it in a second. I haven't found a comparable 188 since.

[Alex C]

Every damn one: including but not limited to

Holton CC
B&S Symphonie F
YFB 822 and 621
Conn Donatelli CC
Besson EEb 981, 982 and 983
Cerveny EEb
Hirsbrunner HB-50 Yorkbrunner
Conn 2J
Conn 3J
Canadian Brass Euphonium
Alexander 183 CC

[cjk]

Not a single one.

[SRanney]

A Kurath F 4p/1r and a mid-70s Miraphone 186 CC. Both were sold in Murfreesboro, TN. If anybody out there knows where these horns may be, I'd love to know if they have good homes.

Steven

[ScotGJ]

3/4 Rudy in 1979 to Mr. Jacobs. The regret is more about my state of mind at the time. Live and learn.

[windmill]

No regrets! Onward and upwards!

[Cameron Gates]

Miraphone 184 CC. Serial number 10307. Great horn.

Miraphone 188 CC.

B&S Symphony F. Nice horn, should have kept it and not spend a billion dollars searching for F's only to end up with one about as good. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I could be retired now.

Each of the these 3 were sold to buy other horns that were sold fast. The others not mentioned........meh. I should have kept these 3 (or at least the 184 and the B&S), added a 5/4 Rudy and been happy. But nooooooooooo. One can't just go through life happy. Can they?

[Toad Away]

My very first tuba (a Christmas present):
a York "monster" front action 3-valve Eb.

My first CC, a Bill Bell model 4-valve MW that
I bought at the factory in Geretsreid in 1969
for US $650.00.

Both were sold a long, long time ago.

Tim (dumb-a**) L.

[tclements]

EVERY Hirsbrunner I've ever sold!

[Frank Ortega]

Hmm, I've sold alot of horns in my time.
But the ones I miss the most would be:

Conn 36J (sold to Paul Dosier in 1989) Still trying to find out where it ended up.

Martin 6/4 BBb 4 front action valves.

CC York model 33 Rusk cut

York/Nirschl 6/4 CC

York 4/4 CC Dillon Cut

King 4/4 CC Gnagey cut

Alexander F-tuba 5 valves.


If I could've kept them all, I would have.
Sigh.

; )

Frank Ortega

[jeopardymaster]

I do miss "The Wizard" but I'm glad it's in good hands. Besides, with my schedule I have to be able to just pick them up and play them, and Alexanders need a lot of doting, lingering attention.

But, as I've posted before, one of the biggest regrets in my life was to sell a most marvelous Cerveny BBb Kaiser. I had handpicked it out of a slew of them, maybe 12, in Walter Sear's studio in 1978, converted the valves from string to ball and socket the next year. WONDERFUL response, felt like a CC in the staff and above, b*lls to the walls down low. Sold it in 1984 in order to buy a computer. And no, in retrospect I did NOT have to do it. Dumb, dumb, dumb, DUMB. I sold it to a school. Such thin metal, it probably got trashed.

I need a drink.

[catkins522]

Miraphone 186 (BBb). Sigh... It was a rotary and with me playing with my left hand.

Charles

[Mojo workin']

A particularly fine specimen of Hirsbrunner HB-2P CC. I didn't have a good sound then, and I would get compliments on 'my sound' all the time with it.

Also the rawbrass York F that 'bububassboner' bought from me about 3 years ago. I would have had kept it and had it tweaked by a repairman as he did, if I could have afforded to.

[tuba kitchen]

Mirafone 185, my first C tuba

[Ace]

My first tuba was a used MW Bill Bell four rotor CC. Killer horn. Wish I still had it. I also miss my huge Cerveny 601-5MR CC with its left-hand fifth valve paddle.

Most of all, I feel sad thinking about my very first brass instrument, purchased ($250) in 1947 when I was 11 years old and had delusions of becoming principal trumpet in a major orchestra. It was a super good Bach Strad Bb NYC, pre-Mt. Vernon trumpet, serial #7665. That horn got me through junior and senior high school, All-State orchestra, UC-Berkeley Symphony, and six years in U.S. Army bands. It was quiet in its case for almost 30 years when I was busy with raising my children, career, etc. When I resumed orchestra playing in 1989, I used a Yamaha 6445 C trumpet. One of the groups I was playing with allowed me a chance to play side partner to the elderly Joe Alessi, Sr. (retired 2nd trumpet of the Met Opera orchestra). I told him about my old Bach trumpet and he immediately wanted to come over to my home and play it. He did so and really made that horn sing, declaring it to be one of the better samples of Vincent Bach's output in the NYC days of production. I sold it for $1000 to a young guy at SUNY. I hope that Bach Strad #7665 is still out there somewhere making beautiful music.

[Chriss2760]

A Holton TR-181 bass 'bone.
I think the school that owned it regrets my selling too. My bad.

[cjk]

A Holton TR-181 bass 'bone.
I think the school that owned it regrets my selling too. My bad.

Sure you're not in Leavenworth, Kansas??

[Ken Herrick]

My 7 valve Alex F which I took as a trade for my 5 V ALex F. Actually didn't sell it - had to use it as collateral for a loan to pay a couple weeks rent. By the time I got the $150 to get it back it had been sold.

By the way, I'll bet it was sold for more than that. (That for those who have been criticising somebody for trying to make a profit on his Kurath.)

Jake always told me I should aim to make a profit when buying/selling! (One of those little "whole of life lessons" teachers sometimes offer.

[Wyvern]

A surprising one from me seeing how many good tubas have passed through my hands over the last few years, but the only one I miss is the old B&S PT-3 CC which I replaced with larger PT-20 last year. The latter is a very good tuba, but is so much heavier to carry and I am not sure with 19" bell projects so well outside? Alas, a bit like buying a new car, then wondering if one should have kept the old one

Jonathan "who with wedding next month is not likely to make any further tuba purchases for the foreseeable future"