kudos to a university studio teacher friend of mine

[southtubist]

I kinda wish I didn't have such nice horns. They're nice to play, but I don't play much other than the odd quintet or community band. In a year or so I'll be starting a career that will have me living in the middle of nowhere, with 60-70 hour work weeks. There won't even be church choirs to play with, let alone community bands. I'll probably quit playing completely upon graduation simply because there will be no opportunities again.

I guess I'll sell my horns then, if there's a market for them. . .

[timayer]

I kinda wish I didn't have such nice horns. .

I've had this same sentiment, and I go back and forth on it. I immediately went from a performance major to law school. I've had the same instruments since college - PT6 and MW 182. They're both spectacular, and I couldn't ask for anything else out of a duo of horns. The 182 is oddly practical, given its apparent size. The PT6 less so. Its size means that I can only use it in orchestra and band, and it takes me several days to work back up to it if I've had to take a hiatus (which is frequent these days). I would love to have a small CC horn or a large F to bridge the gap. But I can't justify buying a third horn, and I can't pull the trigger on getting rid of the PT6 given how good it sounds when I'm in proper playing condition.

As a result, I have spent a lot of time considering just how useful a 4/4 CC tuba or 6/4 F tuba is. The 6/4 F would probably do everything I need (community orchestra, band, quintet, solos, random smaller ensembles). The 4/4 CC would do almost everything (probably not quite as good on the solos). But given my current stable and my location (Alaska - not easy to buy/sell tubas), it's just not in the cards.

All this to say, I agree with bloke's colleague. Students get into a mindset that the horn is holding them back. I certainly fell into that mindset 15 years ago only to find out that it wasn't true once I had a horn that "wasn't holding me back." There's no reason to get a "better" horn until you're proficient enough to make it worthwhile. But sometimes a student needs to be backed into a corner before making that realization (i.e., you're playing [insert major orchestral player]'s personal horn and STILL don't sound like him/her...). Maybe that's through borrowing larger (because let's face it, "better" is code for "larger") horns to come to that realization. Maybe that's through having [insert professional player] do a show on a smaller horn to demonstrate its capability. But people are always going to want the shiny new toy.

- "How much are you going to be playing THAT? Is that important enough to you to use student loan money to pay for it over the next decade or two?"

This is a huge consideration. A $5000 used 188 is a much better investment than a shiny new $20,000 horn for most students. You will not get 4x the performance out of the more expensive horn. The 188 is the more versatile instrument and be more appropriate in more settings. And I have a running theory that you'll stand a better shot of making it past the screened round on the 188 but no sound way to prove it.

[Ken Crawford]

Ask yourself, would player "X" (ex. Gene Pokorny) sound better than I do on this equipment? If the answer is yes, keep practicing.

[swillafew]

I would love to have a small CC horn or a large F to bridge the gap.

Yes sir. I have the same model F, and am thinking likewise.

To the OP's point, the more I think some other horn would work better, the more I need to practice. The work of years past has be to be redone all the time to keep playing properly.

I missed a chance to buy a PT20P once, and I am always sorry I did.

[sousaphonehero]

In a year or so I'll be starting a career that will have me living in the middle of nowhere, with 60-70 hour work weeks.

Band director in a small high school?

[Tom]

Good for them.

My college experience was slightly different and evidently a rare one:

My professor simply didn't care about it. We never discussed equipment - ever. Not one time did he suggest/encourage/tell me what to buy and not one time did I ever waste lesson time discussing needing or even wanting different equipment. Rather it was made clear that learning and progressing through the assigned material was the expectation and it was left at that.

Now, I showed up with a contrabass tuba of my own and later added a bass tuba. Then I got a different contrabass and a different bass tuba - but they were of my own choosing. Were they magically my professors dream pairing? I have no idea. As I said, as long as I was learning and progressing through the assignments I was meeting the professor's expectations.

Looking back on it now, I really actually admire that about that person. The seed was not planted (at least by him) that equipment was the key when working with or guiding his students. He was very much a "run what ya brung" kind of guy. It saved a lot of students a lot of time and money regardless of if they realize it or not.

[pecktime]

I believe teachers have an obligation to let students know if their equipment is holding them back. For instance- leaking horns, horns with unfixable intonation problems, bad mp/ horn matches.

In many ways brass players have it easier than other instrumentalists, we don't have reeds or strings or pads to worry about.

[southtubist]

Band director in a small high school?

Ha!!!!! No- there's no amount of money you could pay me to teach anything, let alone be a band director. . .

I'm going to be a forester- doing a complete 180!