Re: www.tuba.com


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Posted by Pissed-in-valve on April 08, 2002 at 17:21:15:

In Reply to: www.tuba.com posted by Sam Behar on April 07, 2002 at 21:28:48:

Our school district has gone all the rage over these horns. We buy them from the Tuba Exchange because they are an approved vendor for our purchasing dept. I doubt the tuba.com boys would like to jump throught the hoops necessary to obtain that coveted title of "approved vendor". We have bought maybe 12 to 15 of them in the last 6 years. The story is always the same: "great playing horn, blows free-er than anything else, great valve action, falls apart by 3rd period." I think many of us confuse what we think is a great horn for a performer, and what is a great horn for a student in a public school setting. That, and the price, seduced many of us (directors) into buying them for awhile. They do play very well but you have to be careful with them. The metal is even thinner than the Cervany piggies and the S-186s. That is why the brace soldering is so weak. It cheaper to re-solder than to repair a "rip" in the brass. These horns at tuba.com aren't named but the people I've exchanged electrons with all say they are St. Petes. I believe the tuba.com guys are getting these horns as they leave Russia and perhaps are getting horns that may not quite meet the mark of workmanship we in America have come to expect. That does not mean they are inferior. To the contrary, I think they may just be as good. They just don't have the "Brand Name" game going for them. Like all production horns, there are dogs and there are diamonds. As long as you can get some sort of money back agreement going you really can't lose. Try one out and see what happens.

Play low-play deep


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