Posted by Brad on May 23, 2003 at 15:39:34:
In Reply to: Old Tuba,Badly Dented, valves stick? posted by What is it? on May 23, 2003 at 14:13:00:
Hehe,
Old tuba. Hah! I gave back my band director back the DEG 845 I was playing to swap for the Olds something or another that just came back from the shop. The major dents, like the bottom bow that was completely ruined, and the bell, which was twisted and dented around the brass patches on it, were rolled out, and a few more patches added to the bell. According to a serial number listing, this Olds, #403541, was built sometime in 1962, so my band director is absolutely right when he says the tuba I now play has been at the school since before he came to the school. There's a few uncorrectable problems with the Olds though, the third valve is very flat, the valves are tight and stiff, and the bottom tuning slide of the first valve freezes at a certain point.
Badly dented. The ones at my school are worse. Heck, a month ago, one of the five remaining DEG tubas and the Olds were taken into the shop. That DEG works OK, though only some of the parts match. Another of the DEG's broke, the leadpipe fell off.
Valves stick. What a shame! The valves on our tubas and Sousas are 1 really fast, 3 OK (you gotta work them a little, they are very stiff and can cause hand cramping if played in any way but a precise "pain-free" way) 1 missing valves, 1 with broken valve guides, and one very poor, with lots of stiffness and sluggishness. Of all these tubas, no matter how much oil you put in those valves, they don't get any better.
So, in conclusion, that tuba is a very good one, and I'd love to play something that looks that good.