Posted by MY 02 cent's worth on March 02, 2004 at 19:46:45:
In Reply to: Re: MW 2145-55-65 and pricing... uhmm... posted by tekkie on March 02, 2004 at 19:32:03:
with regards to the MW horns originally listed, there's less demand for the bigger horns, so the per horn cost to produce them IS more - not because of more metal, but the cost of firing up manufacturing on the 2155/2165 parts (bells, bows, etc.) The cost for those per piece is higher because fewer are run. That's just one explanation, another is that the bigger horns are considered specialty instruments, and the market for these specialty instruments will simply bear the higher cost. For the average player who thinks they "need" one of these larger horns, you simply have to pay if you want to look like you've got the big stones.
Now for the UMI/Conn/King question. CC buyers may be willing to pay more. BUT, I think its more likely in that case that the cheaper King tubas are cheaper made, and more care as well as "fine-tuning" goes into the more expensive Conns. So in that case, they cost more to produce.
Oh well.
dp