Wessex Prague repair...

[jakewillis]

HI everyone - I bought a Wessex Prague this summer and I loved it. I played it for a few weeks and went on vacation knowing I'd have to have the thing looked at since the first valve was really noisy and would lock up at times. I sent it in to a local music store and it came back 3 weeks later not really any better (in fact the second valve was now sticking.) I live pretty far from the music store and it was marching band season, so it took me a few weeks to get it back to the music store to have it fixed right. Their veteran repair guy (who I have known for years and trust completely) said he would personally look at it to see if he could make it right in his spare time. Problem was that he was swamped with work.

Fast-forward a month or so, and he said the linkage arm connecting to the stem was really loose (he called it "sloppy," I believe) and it's going to need repair parts and quite a bit of work. I won't have the horn until at LEAST 2017.

Andy from Wessex already reimbursed me for the repair. I am not blaming him, the customer service has been responsive and positive.

I guess my question is this - what would you all do in this situation? I loved that horn, it was so fun to play, it was in tune, and it was my pride and joy. I haven't owned a horn in 16 years, and it was a lot of work to get this one. I got the news about it taking so long today (on my birthday) and I have been really bummed out ever since. Faced with this situation, what would any of you do? I'm not feeling super confident to fix it on my own. I am relatively handy, but I don't have the tools to really fix it the way I would want. Should I try anyhow? Would you pull the horn out of this shop and try to find one with a better lead time? Or just be patient?

I am not certain there's anything that can be done, this post is almost more for venting than anything else. I live 45 miles west of Cleveland, Ohio, so I am not that close to anyplace to take it, but does anyone know of someone who would be willing to fix it sooner? I'm really disappointed that I can't use my tuba in all my holiday gigs and Tuba Christmases (I had hoped to do three this year). This really sucks. My son is probably going to have to drop out of NOYO (Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra - Youth honors orchestra from the Oberlin Conservatory) where he was playing my tuba instead of his usual euphonium. His high school doesn't have any extra horns for him to use.

I'm sure things will get better, but this sucks. I bought a horn and I can't enjoy it at all...

[jakewillis]

Thanks, Mark!

[tubazach07]

Sorry to hear about your tuba problems. I spent sometime living in Cleveland and can suggest Chuck Ward. He rebuilds french horns but can work on anything you bring him. He maybe able to help you. I don't know if he will work on Chinese made instruments. His work is top of the line and many professional brass players being their instruments to him. Good luck.

[Wyvern]

Jake, I am really sorry to hear you are having problems with the valves on your Prague tuba. I won't claim to understand what the problem is, but if you needs any parts, let me know direct in the next couple weeks and I will try and pick up from factory during my December visit.

I am not sure when your Prague was manufactured, but I know the problem with 'slack' on rotor arm has now been corrected with tapered fit to make tight as screwed down.

For brass repairer, if you can, I would suggest taking over to Sam and Debs Gnagey. They are familiar with Wessex horns and I am sure can fix. If the problem is due to any manufacturing defect, then Wessex Tuba will pick up the bill under warranty.

[jakewillis]

Sorry to hear about your tuba problems. I spent sometime living in Cleveland and can suggest Chuck Ward. He rebuilds french horns but can work on anything you bring him. He maybe able to help you. I don't know if he will work on Chinese made instruments. His work is top of the line and many professional brass players being their instruments to him. Good luck.

Thank you - I will ask around.

[jakewillis]

Jake, I am really sorry to hear you are having problems with the valves on your Prague tuba. I won't claim to understand what the problem is, but if you needs any parts, let me know direct in the next couple weeks and I will try and pick up from factory during my December visit.

I am not sure when your Prague was manufactured, but I know the problem with 'slack' on rotor arm has now been corrected with tapered fit to make tight as screwed down.

For brass repairer, if you can, I would suggest taking over to Sam and Debs Gnagey. They are familiar with Wessex horns and I am sure can fix. If the problem is due to any manufacturing defect, then Wessex Tuba will pick up the bill under warranty.

Andy has already let me know that you'll be heading to the factory in the coming weeks. As I said, he has definitely made the effort and I've already been reimbursed once for the original repair charge. The horn is with John Devers (sp?) who worked for many years with Driscol Music here in town and has a stellar reputation as an absolute expert on instrument repair. He is swamped with his regular duties but agreed to work on my horn in his spare time.

I've known him for years and he really does a great job with instrument repairs. He is going to get me a list of parts I need in the coming weeks. I just wish he wasn't so busy. That's why I am looking for alternatives. His music store makes deliveries once a week to my rural school when necessary (we have a wonderful band program) and I can not easily get out to Cleveland, so it was the only way I could get the instrument to be looked at without taking time off work.

My horn arrived (I believe) in early June or late May. If I receive parts, would they fit on the old non-tapered system? Should I have the valves replaced? Or all the arms? My first valve stem was so loose that the arm would rotate almost 90 degrees and it would turn over and lock the valve open at times when I was playing (it would prevent the valve paddle from coming back up.) When the horn came back to me after the first attempt to repair it, the second valve arm started getting loose, and I am afraid it's just a matter of time before 3 and 4 start acting up.

I am coming to grips with the idea of not having my horn for a few more months, (I waited 16 years to finally own a horn again, I suppose I can wait a few more months.) I will just have to wait until John is able to finish it at Rettig. I can't afford to take it somewhere else, because of the cost of the repair and the cost of taking time off work. I might have to balance the money I would have made playing gigs with how much it might be to fix the horn.

I really hope the changes in the valves make a difference - I've never had more fun playing a tuba than I did playing my Prague. With the old valves, it's just unusable.

[Wyvern]

It sounds to me like you may just need a set of the new tapered stop arms to solve the problem. I will bring back from the factory.

I would not recommend new valves if can be avoided, as they are lapped to fit individual casings, so to change valves could be a major job.