Posted by Gus Pratt on July 16, 2000 at 15:18:37:
In Reply to: custom work posted by DaveA. on July 16, 2000 at 08:26:59:
A lot depends on how good your Eb is. Based on the prices that 4 valve Eb go for on eBay, unless you have a real good 3 valve it probably isn't worth it. I've seen real good older 4 valve Eb (Conns, Kings, Yorks, Martins, etc.) go for less then $1000. I had a Bossey 3 valve Eb, and made it a 6 valve Eb with some amount of success. I did the work myself as an experiment (I'm only a hobbiest on this type stuff) and a way of getting a better horn then I had. I ended out purchasing 4 different 3 valve sousaphone clusters. 2 of the valve clusters I bought off EBay for $100, and the other 2 I bought for $125 each (although I only used the 2 valve clusters that I bought off EBay I did use a little amount of tubing off one of the others). Mine Boosey was top action, but I converted it to front action. I had to shorten or lenghthen all 6 slides. I have the valves set up so you play the main 3 valves with the right hand, and valves 4-6 with the left hand. The first 3 valves are in a normal type position (about a 45 degree angle just above the center of the horn). The other valves are below the first set but parallel to the outer branch of the tuba. The position is sort of like the left side of a Y. It's actually pretty comfortable so long as I'm sitting down and playing. I did the work on my week off of work, and probably spent 20 or so hours on it. I say all this to give a brief idea of what can be done with an Eb, but also what it takes. If you spend $200 for the 4th vavle (assuming it is used), and the tubing, and if it takes the repair person 6-7 hours at $40-50 an hour to do the work; your total cost would be around $500 assuming you have no dent removal or relacquering done at the same time. You would then have a horn that would probably sell for around $800. So it's kinda a toss up whether it's worth it. You could probably sell your Eb for $300-$400 as is.
I'm sure others who post regularly will be able to give you more accurate figures as far as the prices.