Posted by Alan Herold on March 09, 2001 at 19:03:36:
In Reply to: Please help out this mom! posted by Tuba mom on March 09, 2001 at 00:44:53:
I think, as others have mentioned, that a halfway decent sousaphone is better than a junkyard tuba. Having said that, I would have a talk with the tutor and tell him that since you don't want to buy a bad horn, you're going to use a sousaphone. I would stress that as you wait for a better solution, you'd appreciate it if he would not show any prejudice against the use of the sousaphone so your child won't feel like he's using a piece of crap. Encouragement is needed here... I know you're encouraging your child, but the tutor needs to as well.
Other options are borrowing from the high school or having the band director borrow from a community band, a college, or another high school.
STAY AWAY from the shark infested waters of ebay. If you don't know your way through the water, the sharks will get you. Some folks on this page sell horns and should be able to give you a trial period. Another source I haven't heard from yet is Lee Stofer at Tubameister1(AT)juno.com He may have a couple tubas that are nice, yet cheap.
Good Luck!