Posted by Gary Swart on January 01, 2004 at 18:22:08:
In Reply to: St. Petersburg Tubas! posted by Perkdaddy on December 30, 2003 at 23:15:09:
I've owned a St Pete since 1997. Got it from Die Tuba before TE sewed up the US market. My experience is that the really weak spot in the horn is the valves. The Russians just don't get the idea of real accuracy. Much the same can be said of the cheap Asian imports now glutting the marketplace. After Dan Oberloh did extensive machining, the valves now are working quite well. I over 6 years of use, I have only a couple of minor dings. The finish is showing wear in the areas that contact the body,etc.. The intonation is quite good, with the German sound. Would I buy it again? No, I'd buy one that had a proven valve system, paying more up front and not have a $1200 rebuild to make it decent. If you have one and want to keep it, get a hard case, use a harness (MW) and have the valves rebuilt by a compentent repairshop. It's too bad the Russians didn't build a decent valve system, it really isn't as bad as many would have you believe. It isn't as good as TE would have you believe either.