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This is an excellent musical instrument in excellent condition. Minibal links, and a custom, larger leadpipe drawn and bent for me by Miraphone in Germany using a stock "188 taper" leadpipe tube. It plays like a 186 with the ability to play out more like a 188. It is fantastic in a full-sized symphony orchestra and large concert bands, and rocks it in a brass quintet. Raw brass. Hand-hammered, seamed bell, branches, and slide tubing, very lightweight, great response.
This is an outstanding orchestral CC tuba.
• Excellent condition Miraphone gig bag
• No hard case
• No shipping
Here it is, as currently configured.
Here it is, all shined up, but before I had swapped out the modern 5th lever for one in the old style. I also added a thumb ring when the levers were swapped. (This is not the included gig bag.)
These users thanked the author the elephant for the post (total 2):
If Wade would agree to drive to somewhere that he feels it would be safe to ship FROM, I suspect there would be more serious interest. Refusing to ship and living where he does, it's going to be difficult no matter how wonderful the tuba is.
Mary Ann wrote: Wed May 07, 2025 9:34 am
If Wade would agree to drive to somewhere that he feels it would be safe to ship FROM, I suspect there would be more serious interest. Refusing to ship and living where he does, it's going to be difficult no matter how wonderful the tuba is.
But where is "safe?" I think shipping immediately opens the opportunity for a problem. You are having to accept that risk. Seems like Wade isn't willing to accept that risk. I can respect that.
When I recently purchased a Rudy 4/4, I was told a story by the seller where he shipped horns and I believe 1 disappeared (Greyhound) and 1 may have been severely damaged (I could be wrong). So he decided to hand deliver the horn to me, 9 hrs away.
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There is still putting it on a pallet and shipping with Dominion. There are sellers who do that. I received my first tuba from Dillon packed that way, 20 years ago or so.
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tubatodd (Wed May 07, 2025 1:45 pm) • arpthark (Wed May 07, 2025 1:52 pm)
Mary Ann wrote: Wed May 07, 2025 12:54 pm
There is still putting it on a pallet and shipping with Dominion. There are sellers who do that. I received my first tuba from Dillon packed that way, 20 years ago or so.
I got my Alex 163 palletized and shipped cross-country via Estes from Washington State and it arrived just fine.
But Wade has obviously made up his mind as he has every right to do, and anyone with half a brain in a 12 hour driving radius who needs a 186 should get in their car and go buy this tuba so I quit ogling routes to Mississippi. (21 hours and 42 minutes, for me.)
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tubatodd (Wed May 07, 2025 5:55 pm) • Mary Ann (Thu May 08, 2025 9:11 am)
The horn is in raw brass, so those are hand smudges and not ripples in the metal. The polished photo is how it continues to look after my painstaking "blueprint" restoration work: nearly flawless.
You can't buy this from Miraphone for double nor quadruple this amount...
OK...maybe that much...but I seriously doubt it.
four-day r/t drive? ok...lemme see...A four...day....drive... I calculate that as taking approximately....(insert adding machine noises)...four days.
It's not a credit card/web page/add to cart tuba. Rather, it's a real tuba.
I know what he has.
I could get into something like this again (because of what it is) but (and not in the typical euphemistic way) I've (literally) gone in a different direction.
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Mary Ann wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 6:16 pm
You are 18 hours and 34 minutes from me non-stop. For me now, that is a four day drive if I am lucky.
Google Maps tells me we are about 22 hours apart.
Foy you (and pretty much *only* you — and *maybe* a few others here) I could drive the 11.5 hours to Odessa, TX, but I would have to spend a chunk of money that I don't have for rental car, hotel, gas, and food… probably at least $500 if I stay at Motel 6 for the whole trip.
If you want to pay me $7,000 for the horn and my trip I will have the time to do it after June. However, with the expenses for your half of the trip I do not think this is a good price. Maybe for a cheaper horn you could justify that, but whatever. At least I have my wife's permission to do this if you want. But I do not recommend it.
Me pointing out the distance and the time to go retrieve it "it is what it is" (as being a very secondary factor - though perhaps not to the typical septogenarian, but of secondary consideration to a serious student or working tuba player - the most likely buyer, and my estimation), I was just sort of remembering back to that guy who had some really special tuba (I can't remember the make and model) way up in central Alaska somewhere...
... It took a short while, but he sold it. Someone thought long and hard enough about the prospect, and I'm thinking they went and got it.
Were I some kid in college (or a per service orchestra), wanted a real tuba, lived someplace like Wyoming, was wise enough to understand what's being offered for sale here, and had a car that would make the trip, I'd go fetch it.
I don't like using personalities in this way (so-and-so did this/so-and-so plays this), typically, but - when Gene Pokorny had to audition for orchestras and had to get past the first round - he would always use a 186 (end of this particular vintage) in that round... Which makes perfect sense to me, for multiple reasons.
If I were 20 years younger, still had a travel trailer, didn't have cats who need a cat sitter, etc. etc. etc. and frankly I don't know if I have the air, or how many years I have left in me to hoist tubas, no matter how wonderful they are. I have the Hagen sitting here, and it is one fine piece of machinery, but it has not made it out of the house because it needs a box to sit on, I don't really have the air, etc. I'm just pipe dreaming because I like fine instruments. Not intending to tease Wade or anyone else.
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