This is an outstanding musical instrument in excellent physical and mechanical condition. The finish is unlacquered brass. The inside of the bell is silver-plated. The piston set was made by Walter Nirschl in 1990. All slide tubes, the 5th valve, and most of the slide crooks were purchased new from Miraphone. This tuba was cut by Bob Rusk and was one of the better examples of his work.
But *I* did the build.
I did the acoustical correction to improve intonation and low register response, which are excellent now. The leadpipe is smaller than the one Mr. Rusk installed (which was ridiculous), so now it has a very stable low register. (FUN FACT: Most of these "York-O-Phones" have *very* weak low registers. This one does not.) Intonation is extremely good, and not for one of these huge tubas, but for tubas in general. It is better than my very good 186, with very little adjustment needed while playing. Quite honestly, it is a BAT with an "easy button".
Included is a leather Glenn Cronkhite bag that my cats have savaged, cosmetically, but that is in otherwise excellent functional condition. (It's pretty ugly.) If you want a heavy, leather bag to protect this horn, this one will work just fine for many years to come, until you choose to buy a nice, pretty-looking one.
There is no option to ship. Trust me on this: nothing this large shipped to or from Mississippi arrives undamaged. Rather, we will have to meet in person, the location to be agreed upon on the phone.
You may have up to an hour of my time to test this tuba, and since we may have to meet in some random parking lot along our route, you will need to bring a chair. Bring a friend with a trusted set of ears to help you evaluate, perhaps play some duets with them. This tuba will be pretty easy to decide to buy.
You must pay CASH IN FULL. I do not take PayPal, bank apps, or checks unless I have known you for many years. CASH.
IMPORTANT: Contact me so we can talk. I will answer all questions about this tuba with blunt candor. I will take photos or videos of specific things you would like to see something specific. I want you — as much as possible — to pretty much know you want to purchase this tuba before we both hit the road. It is important to me that you love this tuba as much as I do. I also hate having my time wasted. I equally hate wasting the time of others. We have all the time in the world to discuss the horn, look at photos of the horn, and watch videos of the horn. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT TIME BEFORE MAKING THE DRIVE.
Horn is located in the Jackson, MS area.
