Posted by Leland on June 30, 1999 at 16:34:40:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Good BBb Tubas? posted by Doug on June 30, 1999 at 15:56:49:
Not to be rude, but it's time to make some trips then.
Brasswind in Indiana is the only place I know in the US that carries VMI, but I could be mistaken. There are other places to go for tubas, too: Tuba Exchange in N. Carolina (I think?), Dillon's in NJ, Custom in Michigan, Dave Fedderly's operation in Baltimore, your local shops & dealers, anyplace else I don't know about.... Brasswind's got Charlie the Tuba Guy, good prices, and more tubas than trumpets; Dillon Music has a massively good reputation and many other options (well-refurbished used horns, custom jobs); Dave Fedderly's customers always seem to be happy; etc etc...
Mail order is great, but the best thing to do is to try out many horns back-to-back in person at the store rather than shipping tubas back & forth on trial periods. When you're spending that much cash on a horn, investing $2-300 in a road trip is definitely worth the peace of mind you'll get out of knowing that you tried 'em all.
Seeya,
Leland