Turning over all my equipment

[LeMark]

For a guy that owned and played one tuba for almost 20 years, I sure have turned over a lot of my equipment recently

Sold in the last couple of years...
Contrabass trombone
Alto trombone
Soprano trombone
Rath tenor trombone
Packer 274 euphonium
Cerveny 601 CC
And most shockingly.. Adams short action E3 euphonium

Bought recently
Besson 3v compensating Euph
Cerveny 601 Kaiser BBb
Miraphone Norwegian star Eb
A new tuba that I will reveal within a week hopefully
King 2280 euphonium, upgraded and modded with 5th valve
Yamaha british style baritone

Probably going to be in the market in the next few months... Really good instruments that I can't see getting a lot of use of in the future.

Cerveny/amati 5 valve CC.
Packer/sterling 379b BBb
Besson alto horn (bell front /front action)
Packer rath JP333 bass trombone
York front action 5 valve Eb tuba


Haven't bought or sold any electric basses in several years. I think that's a record for me

[Doc]

Sometimes, you need to renovate. I replaced my entire brace a few years ago. Took about a year. I didn’t replace any electric basses, but I added one. Such is the affliction…

[LeMark]

I hate to give up my remaining CC, but the tuba I have on the way is so nimble and fun to play, I don't think I'll be needing the CC when the Norwegian star is almost the exact same size

I also have a buyer already lined up for it. Basically someone who has said "if you want to sell it, give me first Crack at it"

That's basically how I sold my Adams by writing a single PM on Facebook

[bloke]

Every time I sell something, it seems like the freak jury reacts with "OMG, bloke is selling fill-in-the-blank".

bloke "It's just stuff. Yes, it's really excellent stuff, but I replace it with other really excellent stuff - or maybe even slightly more excellent stuff... or maybe, I just really don't need every piece of really excellent stuff that I have."

[LeMark]

Yep exactly. When this new tuba arrives that will give me SIX. That way too many for a guy with only one mouth. It doesn't make sense to keep buying stuff without occasionally selling something. I told the student today that I'd rather have my 5 valve king 2280 and the Norwegian Star than the king 2280 and an Adams E3

I'm really loving the Norwegian star, I'm taking it this weekend to play with the symphony and it's not even a really high bass tuba damnation of Faust type weekend, it's just regular tuba parts

[bloke]

I'm not going to boast about what I paid for some of the things that I own, but I could never replace them for anything like that - not even adjusted for inflation, and not even Chinese knockoffs of them.

My really big B-flat is quite useful, my medium big B-flat is somewhat useful, my F tuba is quite useful and allows me to play things that I could otherwise probably only scuffle through (and that includes with most any other F tuba), my really large euphonium is playing more and more things that I used to play on my F tuba - particularly things that were written prior to the mid 1800s, my Yamaha euphonium allows me to play screaming-high things that might be labeled "tenor tuba", the F cimbasso gets used about as much as everything else for quite a few different things, the recording bell compensating B-flat is really good for large ensemble outdoor work, and the recording-bell compensating E-flat is really good for small combo indoor work... and I have upright detachable bells for both of those instruments as well. I use the valve trombone sometimes when I'm called to play a jazz gig where there's already an electric bass and they need a tailgate, I'm holding on to my flugabone, because it's in super condition, cost about $XX, plays nicely in tune, and is a good thing to have when four musicians are trying to sound like a fully orchestrated polka band.

I'm still not going to disclose what I paid for anything in particular, but some things that I own actually cost prices that begin with a minus sign.

[Doc]

Every time I sell something, it seems like the freak jury reacts with "OMG, bloke is selling fill-in-the-blank".

bloke "It's just stuff. Yes, it's really excellent stuff, but I replace it with other really excellent stuff - or maybe even slightly more excellent stuff... or maybe, I just really don't need every piece of really excellent stuff that I have."

Yep.

As time goes on, a player’s needs can change, a player’s tastes might also change, or a player might find a tool that does a better job than a current tool. I’ve gone through different tools over the years (for me, they are tools to do a job) that were best suited to me and what I was doing at the time.
I currently have some tools that were highly sought after, and I still have them despite not having a current need for them (none of which are my go-to/default instruments to play strictly for my personal enjoyment). I don’t anticipate having need for them any time soon. They are special enough that I haven’t put them up for sale yet, but like bloke, I’m not necessarily trying to be a tuba collector. I have basses, amps, and speaker cabinets that are in that same category. I think I have really been hoping that I will have need of everything whenever I retire from polyester and kevlar and do something else for a living that has a music-friendly schedule. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything new on the horizon yet, but I’m looking.

[PlayTheTuba]

A new tuba that I will reveal within a week hopefully

Is that a reference to...

My holy grail is the Norwegian star or the Willson 3400s. It all comes down to if you like pistons or rotors.

I know of another manufacturer developing an Eb that might blow both of those out of the water... But I don't want to spill the beans on that one

...this?

bongo-cat.gif (3.23 KiB) Viewed 1231 times

[iiipopes]

I have owned and flipped more souzys than most. I have had and sold, or at least had the use of:
King 'glass & brass
Reynolds 'glass
Olds 'glass
Selmer/Bundy 'glass
Conn 38K
Conn 22K
Conn 20K in grad school

I have now the use of a Conn Pan-Am with Cavalier bell (.687 bore) until Lee Stofer finishes my 36K.

I had a Besson 3-valve BBb New Standard Comp that fell apart on me, so I worked a trade. The Bessophone of lore was traded for cash and a remarkable 921 globe-stamp Sovereign cornet (Oh, the tone with either a Wick 4B or a Curry 3TC or 3BBC!). Now I play a Jupiter JTU1110 as my only tuba.

King baritone, Wessex baritone, both in-and-out; Kiev oval baritone in-and-out; kept the B&H 3-valve comp euph for Tuba Christmas (Hey - so many folks bring so many tubas, I'll just sit in a corner of the section on 2nd euph part and enjoy)

Any 'druthers? If I had a stand or if my shoulder could still endure it, the 38K was my favorite: perfect scale (even 2nd space C was almost in tune), seamless privilege tones down to true pedal BBb, true fundamental without having to be loud that would shake the floor joists. It was the easiest instrument to play such fun pieces as The Thunderer I have ever played. Alas, at 35+ pounds, too much for my shoulder; it had to go.

[Tubeast]

I consider my horns to be the equivalent of the motorbikes or fancy stereos others keep and cherish:
A joy in my life that is nobody else´s business and doesn´t really need justification.

That being said, I still can offer the reasons why I bought and keep each of my current five instruments,
as well as why I bought, kept and later sold each of the four horns that aren´t with me any more.

There is one peculiar case, though:
- when I bought my ADAMS F, the M-W 46S was in a pitiful state and I wanted to own ONE good F-tuba.
- Decided to grant the M-W 46S an extensive overhaul in order to increase its chances in the market.
(Might have served a young, developing professional as a solid work horse)
- It came back as a very fine horn, offering sound qualities complementing those of the ADAMS.
- Made up my mind and chose to keep BOTH.

[Sousaswag]

Yeah, same deal over here. I’ve owned a LOT of C tubas. For me, it’s just been about finding the perfect balance and fit for my particular preferences.

I don’t mind switching them around. It gives me the opportunity to be more informed about many makes and models, and what I like and don’t like. My close friends think I’m crazy for doing it about once a year, but until I feel like I do about my F tuba, I’ll keep doing it. Doesn’t matter to me. If I regret it, they didn’t make just ONE of that model.

Funny enough, the reason I’m having my F tuba re-done is because I really “shook hands” with it, as they say. I wouldn’t be putting in $X,XXX in repairs and modifications that fit me if I didn’t really enjoy that instrument. I have not felt that way about any particular C tuba yet. I enjoy each one I’ve owned, but there’s always been something I’d change.

[bisontuba]

Might a Hagen 494 be coming your way?

[arpthark]

I've done this a few times as my goals and needs changed.

Once I graduated tooba skool, PT-6 CC and B&S JBL F were traded/sold to downsize to a Willson F tuba that was my "do-everything" horn for 3 years. Used it on tons of freelance gigs, brass quintet, teaching, Christmas masterworks stuff.

I grew frustrated with some aspects of the Willson and went through a period where I had a revolving stable of tubas -- Alex 163 CC, Rudi 3/4, Mirafone 184, Besson 15" bell eefer, Kalison 2000 5/4+ CC, 186, 188, Piggy, Cerveny Kaiser BBb. Honestly, I probably went through more tubas than @bort2.0 has, but I wasn't very active on the tuba forums then, so I escaped all the ribbing. Ended up settling down with an Alex Vienna-system F, a Gnagey CC and a Schiller Eb comp that I used in the Brass Band of Louisville.

Ended up moving to New England for an academic position and offloaded everything but the Gnagey, and then offloaded the Gnagey too when it became clear my teaching and research duties were going to leave me nearly 0 time to play the tuba (although I did play the Gnagey CC in a British style brass band up here for a while -- on the Eb Bass part! Sorry @anadmai!).

My research duties ended and I was only teaching 20 hours a week all of a sudden, so I had a lot of free time. I decided to get back in the game and bought a Musica (VMI) CC that was like 50 feet tall, huge smokestack bell, along with an old school little Meinl-Weston 46 F that I quite enjoyed. Began practicing a ton again and got my chops back up to nearly as good as they used to be when I was a performance major. Ended up playing a recital on those instruments, just for the hell of it. I did the Hindemith Sonata and Fnugg on the Musica CC and all the acrobatic and lyrical stuff (Carnival of Venice, etc.) on that little MW.

Bought a house, so ended up offloading those instruments to help with a down payment, walked away from my academic position and got a "real job," and didn't play again until 2022, when I got started back up with a Dillon 410CC. Now I am pretty happy with my Eastman 832 CC, have that little Yamaclone 621 F for teaching lessons and for stand-up/strolling gigs and things like that, a floral-bell Conn 36K sousaphone seen in my profile pic which makes outdoor concert patrons smile, and a few other odds and ends. I also (oddly and unexpectedly) play a lot of tenor trombone these days.

Now I've got a wild hare to replace the Eastman with a Miraphone 188 and the Yamaclone with something more in line with a PT-10, but we'll see.

[anadmai]

It's okay. I only forgive once.

I walked away from playing for 27 years but never did sell my 1988 B&H/Besson 967 Sovereign. I was asked a couple times but could never do it. The first horn my parents bought me was $125.00 back in 1987, A 1906 Henry Distin Euphonium. 3 valve. Non-compensating and I think it was still in HP. No matter how much I pulled it out, the damn thing was still sharp. It came with EVERYTHING. The case, lyre, some adapter to lower the pitch. Still have it and all the parts.

In the mid 90s before I left The Salvation Army, I "rescued" a 1952 B&H Imperial tenor trombone. It's gorgeous. No permission. No regrets. LOL.

Upon getting back into playing, I was asked to play in a British Brass band so I needed to purchase a real baritone. Purchased a Dillon 4v non-compensating and quickly gave it to my daughter. Did. Not. Like It. Eventually paid 7x the amount of the Dillon and purchased a Sterling Virtuoso 3v compensating. It's JUST like the Sovereign I played in the early 90's with the NYSB. British made. Happy Girl here.

And you know the tale of my Eb Bass.

I'm done collecting horns. Yeah, I know we all say that, but it's true. I have one of each and quite satisfied. Now I want to girlie up the Eb with custom inlays...but all in good time.

[bloke]

I have one of those Yamaha 3+1 NON-compensating English baritones. It was beat up, I put in some time on straightening it out, but never took it to the finish line. Someday, I'd like to find out how it plays.

[MikeS]

I have one of those Yamaha 3+1 NON-compensating English baritones. It was beat up, I put in some time on straightening it out, but never took it to the finish line. Someday, I'd like to find out how it plays.

My experience is that they are much more fun to play than they are to listen to. They are responsive and have decent intonation. They just cannot produce as pleasing a sound as a Besson 955 or a newer Yamaha Neo mostly, I think, due to the .504” bore. Think valve trombone rather than junior euphonium. I had one briefly and my wife hated it. She does rather like my York Preference.*

*The Shreiber-Keilworth German made York. Not an old Grand Rapids model.

[bloke]

I have one of those Yamaha 3+1 NON-compensating English baritones. It was beat up, I put in some time on straightening it out, but never took it to the finish line. Someday, I'd like to find out how it plays.

My experience is that they are much more fun to play than they are to listen to. They are responsive and have decent intonation. They just cannot produce as pleasing a sound as a Besson 955 or a newer Yamaha Neo mostly, I think, due to the .504” bore. Think valve trombone rather than junior euphonium. I had one briefly and my wife hated it. She does rather like my York Preference.*

*The Shreiber-Keilworth German made York. Not an old Grand Rapids model.

I hear you, and/but I had/sold an old pre-"anything-bigger-is-better" Besson (pre-"Sovereign"-anything) 3-valve comp. English baritone - same c. 1/2-inch bore size, and with an 8" bell. I never approached it as a small euphonium, and (I'm thinking...) put an 11C or a 12C in the mouthpiece receiver. I was (is) a nice instrument, as long as I approached it as what it is. Also (with the smaller size) the quirky pitches were easier to favor (vs. the new-style larger-bore ones).

I feel odd and epically unqualified (never having been given an opportunity to participate in one, yet having listened to older vs. more recent recordings of fine ones) to be a critic of British-style brass band metamorphoses through the decades, but (just as I've scratched my head over the "because John Fletcher" use of 19-inch bells on the British brass band E-flats, I'm nearly as puzzled regarding expanding the size of English baritone horns towards the size of (fading out of use) American baritone horns. It just seems to me that the purpose of the different instruments of the same length is contrast, rather than one blurring into the next. The only trombone in the entire ensemble is a bass trombone, so (yes? no?) shouldn't the little baritones sound much more like tenor trombones than euphoniums?

anyway...enough rhetoric. SOMEDAY, I'm going to finish sticking it together.

[jtm]

…. The only trombone in the entire ensemble is a bass trombone, so (yes? no?) shouldn't the little baritones sound much more like tenor trombones than euphoniums?

There are other normal tenor trombones — at least two parts. But the main reason brass bands get mentioned around here is for the basses reading treble clef, and then bass trombone is called out as being a bass clef part. The other trombones read Bb treble, like baritones and euphoniums, so nobody mentions them here.

[bloke]

Thanks @jtm

...I should have reminded myself via a search.


Eb Soprano Cornet
Bb Cornets
Bb Flugelhorn
Eb Tenor Horns
Bb Baritones
Bb Euphoniums
Bb Tenor Trombones
Bass Trombone
EEb Basses
BBb Basses
Percussion

...though this correction/reminder now makes me also wonder about the size of the trombones used in the past...
possibly 7-1/2" - 7-3/4" bells, with .480" - .490" bore sizes... (yes?/no?)

[jtm]

The past was quite long ago, so trombones were surely quite bright for a long time. I’ve no idea what the customs are now, but would guess nearly everyone has trombones at least big enough for an F valve.

I’m playing a German rotary F tuba on EEb part, though, so I’m trying not to know too much about the rules.