Posted by Lee A. Stofer, Jr. on July 13, 1999 at 21:30:32:
In Reply to: Tuba Players posted by Tim on July 13, 1999 at 15:27:41:
Tim,
Sean's right. As an instrument repairman, I have great respect for the Yamaha name,particularly their flutes, and the saxophones and piccolos that come out of the Grand Rapids, MI facility. However, as a tubist, I prefer the German and grand old American horns, and until they build something like that, I don't ever want to play a Yamaha tuba. I've had an opportunity to work a couple of weeks in a German tuba factory, and I've seen what it takes to build what I like to play. When Yamaha has 1 1/2 centuries of brass background, maybe they'll make horns like that, but at 400+ man-hours to hand-build a single tuba, I doubt that they'll do it soon-it just wouldn't be cost-effective for them.
-Lee Stofer