APB - Piggy Missing - FOUND!!! - Piggy Home!

[Ricko]

UPS/UPS freight seems to have 'lost' a Piggy I recently purchased from Eflatdoubler, a fellow tubenetter a week or so ago in Houston, TX

In short, My brother took care of transaction, packaged the horn and case to TubeNet standards and took it to be shipped by UPS freight on my employer's account to come home to Nashville, TN. Now our friends at UPS can't seem to find the horn and from their tracking system it appears to never have left the Cypress/Stafford/Houston TX area.

It appears to be a fairly recent piggy with bell garland and smaller logo on the bell. We don't have a serial number as it has changed owners several times - it has all the 'normal' belt buckle wear and the back of the bell has a little rash as shown in the pics below.

It's my understanding we have to let the UPS folks do their thing before we can insinuate any other activity... If my Texas friends see one of these pop up from a less than normal source, please PM me.

Ricko

[bort]

When I've shipped things by UPS *Ground*, they have always arrived on time, though the schedule wasn't always steady. For example, it would get picked up from home, sit somewhere for 2 or 3 days, and then hurry up and get to its destination in 1 day after that.

When was the package due to arrive at your house?

[ralphbsz]

I've had cases where things vanish at UPS. In my case, it was an item that is valuable, small, and easy to recognize (ammo, which is identified by a sticker on the outside of the case, and by its very high weight, and a small box of ammo is quite valuable). Several shipments in a row vanished at the same UPS hub, and an investigation by the ATF showed that that the same UPS hub had had other ammo shipments vanish too. UPS was graceful about it, cooperated with the ATF, and quickly reimbursed the shippers.

But a tuba is very different from ammo: it is very very big. A box of ammo is the kind of thing a dishonest UPS employee can sneak out in his lunchbox. With a tuba, it requires a large vehicle, and hauling a very large box. Combine that with security cameras, and it is very unlikely that the tuba was stolen in transit. More likely, it is sitting in a dusty corner of a warehouse, and the staff there have forgotten it. Which means we can be optimistic that it will be found, once UPS starts seriously trying to locate it.

[TubaTodd]

I had my piggy shipped via UPS ground from San Francisco, CA to Birmingham, AL. It arrived exactly when it said it would. As a fellow piggy owner. I feel your pain. I hope everything works out for you.

[Ricko]

Piggy has been found!!! in Salt Lake City, Utah - at some point the label came off the box so it went to the 'loose goods facility'... I've been told it will head to the Music City via air to arrive Friday.

I was also told it has now been identified as a rare, one of a kind, un-replaceable musical instrument - I guess that's how they classify it after being told the cost of a new one and that it may not be readily available on this side of the pond.

After having some BBQ for lunch, now I'm praying I don't get a wad of brass and a pile of wood chips...

Ricko

[TubaTodd]

Awesome!!!

[Schedonnardus]

great news, keep us posted when it finally arrives!

[Eflatdoubler]

Glad to hear! It is a one of a kind Piggy!

[Ricko]

Piggy dorn alert...

In anticipation of the homecoming - piggy celebration


Welcome home Piggy!


And it's especially great as I've been a Piggy lover for 28+ years...


Now that I've got the piggy back, I wish I could have that hair!

Thank you for your support

Ricko

[Bob Kolada]

Cool horn! What are the other two in your profile picture?

[Ricko]

That's a Miraphone 186 I had for a little while and a Weril 681 - I guess it's time to update the profile pic... I haven't had the 186, the carpet or the furniture for many years now.

Ricko

[Ricko]

The Piggy is wonderful! It felt like home with the first couple of notes. So easy to play with nice, deep, warm overtones. Great horn - it's a pick of the piggies - worth all the drama.

Ricko

[Nick Lukefahr]

Good to hear it turned up! Sounds like a great horn.

[Ricko]

Well... a more accurate description of my 'orchestra' is 'churchestra'... so the piggy's a good fit for me.

We appreciate that the Piggy visited the land of Mack Wilberg before heading to Nashville - it needed to get some choral experience before heading home.

Tubas do have their trends - My first personally owned horn was a piggy - then I thought I needed a 186... then I thought I needed something smaller... then I thought I might want something bigger and landed back on another piggy. In that same time period I think the 'hot' horns were the CB50, 2165, 188, 56J, the Besson/Gronitz CC, the 1291, MW2000, Thor and the list keeps on going. Some of those that were hot we wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole anymore.

Regardless of the marketing we really only want a horn that help us get the sound we want with the least amount of effort.

If you can afford it, I'd suggest you hang on to your piggy until you are sure you have found 'the' replacement horn. You shouldn't have any problem moving the piggy...