Why is it that..

[DonO.]

1. You search for “tuba” in FleaBay and you see pretty much the same horns in “Most Recent” as you do in “Ending Soonest”, simultaneously?

2. You very specifically search for “tuba” in Facebook Marketplace, and shows you all kinds of “Not Tuba” stuff like trumpets, trombones, guitars, amps, schnozzle-phones, etc.,etc., etc? Even bath tubs! (I guess three out of four letters is close enough).

[The Big Ben]

Life can be a mystery...

[DonO.]

Life can be a mystery...

I actually think #1 is evidence of a disturbance in the space-time continuum.

[bloke]

Daylight savings time

[Mary Ann]

For the exact same reason why, if you buy or even look at, a gizmo anywhere online, you will get ads for that gizmo for the entire rest of your life. Until of course, you look at another gizmo.

[C J]

2. You very specifically search for “tuba” in Facebook Marketplace, and shows you all kinds of “Not Tuba” stuff like trumpets, trombones, guitars, amps, schnozzle-phones, etc.,etc., etc? Even bath tubs! (I guess three out of four letters is close enough).

That is AI at work, it knows all the things in the world that wanted to be a Tuba but have failed. So it assumes that all of those things strive to be a tuba and maybe one day succeeds.

[acemorgan]

I own the only Carl Fischer National model Eb tuba in the world. (Go ahead, prove me wrong; I double-dog dare you.) Anyway, when I bought it, I got it from a seller on Ebay who happened to live in the same city as me. Before I went to look at it, I decided to do some comparison shopping for that same model online. I found close to a dozen listings in a ridiculous range of prices. Every single listing had the same pictures of my tuba. It had distinctive bell damage and repair, and every picture had the same views as were posted by the original seller.

After I bought it and the seller removed the listing, the bogus offers began to gradually disappear. My assumption is that people listed my tuba at a bloated price, intending to quickly buy it from the original seller, and have it shipped to whatever shill they could con.

For awhile, every picture of a Carl Fischer National Eb tuba online--even just non-vendor images, was a picture of mine. Now, the pictures are gone.

[tclements]

There are 38,965,193 people living in California, and we can't get a White Castle???

[dp]

1. You search for “tuba” in FleaBay and you see pretty much the same horns in “Most Recent” as you do in “Ending Soonest”, simultaneously?
2. You very specifically search for “tuba” in Facebook Marketplace, and shows you all kinds of “Not Tuba” stuff like trumpets, trombones, guitars, amps, schnozzle-phones, etc.,etc., etc? Even bath tubs! (I guess three out of four letters is close enough).

shabby code

[matt g]

What’s the proximity of the “s” key to the “a” key on the keyboard? What are the chances that someone is fumbling with the keyboard while typing? And both ways “tuba” and “tubs” are legitimate searches in eBay…

So the parsing algorithm allows for these errors from keyboard stuff or just misspelling so that people still get returns that are something along the lines of what they want without getting overly frustrated. It’s all UI/UX design.

So yeah, it also returns stuff you don’t want. Can’t win em all.

[bloke]

...so many people are talked into believing so many things that obviously aren't so ?

[humBell]

I own the only Carl Fischer National model Eb tuba in the world. (Go ahead, prove me wrong; I double-dog dare you.) Anyway, when I bought it, I got it from a seller on Ebay who happened to live in the same city as me. Before I went to look at it, I decided to do some comparison shopping for that same model online. I found close to a dozen listings in a ridiculous range of prices. Every single listing had the same pictures of my tuba. It had distinctive bell damage and repair, and every picture had the same views as were posted by the original seller.

After I bought it and the seller removed the listing, the bogus offers began to gradually disappear. My assumption is that people listed my tuba at a bloated price, intending to quickly buy it from the original seller, and have it shipped to whatever shill they could con.

For awhile, every picture of a Carl Fischer National Eb tuba online--even just non-vendor images, was a picture of mine. Now, the pictures are gone.

I been meanin' to ask how that Carl Fischer is treating ya?

It was one of the satisfying moments where maybe i was a little helpful responding in the WTB forum. I did in fact end up with (one of) the other options listed on ebay at the time, also a Carl Fischer, but the "American Model" which others have pegged as a Pan Am tuba (though perhaps one of those that for some inexplicable reason turns out better (or at least easier) than the corresponding Conns). "Reliable" Carl Fischer (extrapolating form maybe 2 or 3 data points?) seem to be Czech imports?

And Carl Fischer at some point was the sole agent for Besson, like this one viewtopic.php?p=48865 if the old bell engravings tell true...

PS for those too lazy to dive a couple of links into it, apparently the picture from the ebay listing of my American Model is still valid?!



(Ain't it perty? Slowly workin' back to that patina...)

[Rick Denney]

Carl Fischer never made a tuba, of course, but they sold lots of them. Some had their own branding, some had branding they owned, and some had the manufacturer's branding. Only the latter can be identified by the label.

Famously, they owned the York Band Instrument Company from 1940 to 1971. The old Grand Rapids factory made student lines in the years following the war, but York-branded instruments with more professional aspirations were made by Böhm & Meinl or by (dim memory concerning the small top-action York Masters) de Prins. I'm sure that Carl Fischer bought instruments from Amati/Cerveny in later years when they were still stenciling imports with their own brands, just as other companies like Giardinelli (among many others) branded tubas made by B&S. American companies took advantage of the low prices of instruments made in Communist countries who were desperate in the 70's for foreign capital.

As to "National" versus "American" sub-branding, my bet is that whatever word they used is the opposite of the truth, because it was that truth they were trying to hide. Meaning: "National" and "American" were probably not made in America, at least after WWII. Prior to WWII, it's more likely they were made in America because the alternatives were much more difficult to import.

Rick "much ado about nothing" Denney

[bloke]

Designed by French technicians.

[MikeS]

Designed by French technicians.

So very sorry, but I just can’t resist.



From Horn-u-Copia:
Petrus De Prins Established his Firm in Borgerhout Antwerpen.

DePrins Logo During the first World War production was stopped. In 1918 De Prins sons Karel, Gustaaf and Louis started up the firm again as Gebroeders (brothers) De Prins and they continued into the 1950s. Pre WWI horns from DePrins are engraved DEPRINS and post WWI Horns are engraved DEPRINS Gebr. or DePrins Freres.

imported by Walter Sear, NYWalter Sear was involved in the design of the instrument

In the 1980s, DePrins stopped producing Brass instruments. They were all handmade and they could not compete with automated firms. They kept their Musical Instrument shop for another 10 years. The biggest part of their factory inventory is now in a small museum Called "Museum van het ambacht, Gebroeders de Prins" (trans. Museum of handicraft, Brothers De Prins) in the town of Wommelgem near Antwerpen in Belgium.

[peterbas]

.

[arpthark]

Designed by French technicians.