Posted by Lee Stofer on January 25, 2004 at 17:12:27:
In Reply to: Which Tuba to buy? posted by Greg von Buchau on January 17, 2004 at 18:03:44:
The Cerveny may be worth more if you want a larger instrument with nice rotary valves that gets a larger sound. If a smaller, easier-to carry instrument with piston valves is your cup of tea, then the Weril would probably work better. I sold a 2-year-old Cerveny 686 last week, and the valves were just great. The Weril has a harder skin, the Cerveny a softer skin, but the thickness is comparable.
As opposed to comments made elsewhere in this thread, a brass instrument being "blown out" is about as valid a scientific concept as the earth being flat. In this age of maintenance-free this and that, musical instruments remain old-fashioned in the respect that they require regular maintenance, and some more than others. I have repaired and serviced Cerveny tubas that have been abused in schools for 20 years or more, and I'm here to tell you that, even after that sort of treatment, they can sound like $1,000,000.00. If the blown-out concept applied to brass instruments the same as to oboes, then I'd be wasting my time to restore the instruments that I do. For what its worth, the 1894 Cerveny BBb that I'm restoring is not "blown out" yet ;^)