I think this is an Alexander

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Heavy_Metal
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I think this is an Alexander

Post by Heavy_Metal »

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arpthark (Thu Dec 26, 2024 12:42 pm)


Principal tuba, Bel Air Community Band
Old (early 1900s?) Alexander BBb proto-163
1976 Sonora (B&S 101) 4-rotor BBb
1964 Conn 20J/21J BBb (one body, both bells)
1970s Marzan Slant-rotor BBb
~1904 York 3P BBb Helicon
Old Alex Comp.F, in shop
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the elephant
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by the elephant »

Looks like it.
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bloke
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

What if one of you ends up being the winning better for $2,000 and end up only with the mouthpiece shown in the final picture?
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by peterbas »

You can get the big brother in better shape for 5000.
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https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/ ... 64-74-3887
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bloke
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

I see shiny, but I also see really wrinkly.
Assuming Mr brown is also an Alex (and forced to purchase one of the two), I'd pick Mr. brown in a heartbeat...
The few dents I see on Mr. brown...At least, I could remove them myself (rather than someone else - up to their "standards")...
...though all old tubas' valves are crap-shoots.

Lots of people like Alex tubas. I wouldn't be buying one to keep. I tend to shy away from them. Most offered for sale seem to be about as old-and-older as the oldest Miraphone tubas. I might buy one hand-to-hand (inspected by me, prior to a purchase).
Old tubas (and - in particular - old rotary tubas)...Who knows whether someone(s) have buffed the crap out of their bells, what's up with the valves, whether spider cracks didn't show up in pictures, etc., etc.

I'm sure I've passed up some amazing deals, but I also suspect that some that looked ok in pictures would have canceled out several of the "amazing" ones...

...all of that who-cares-what-bloke-says blather being published, I'd move on a good lookin' Alex BB-flat (based on pictures only) way before I'd move on a C...but those American college boys are all told to buy C instruments, so... :smilie6:

...and sure, I could easily be accused of "sour grapes".

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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by peterbas »

For the same price a 163 in what seems excellent condition.

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Anybody see any use for a 3 valve F tuba?

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bort2.0
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bort2.0 »

Somebody desperately wanted to attach a carrying strap ring to that tuba. :smilie6:
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arpthark (Thu Dec 26, 2024 2:31 pm) • York-aholic (Thu Dec 26, 2024 6:36 pm)
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bloke
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

I also shy away from those "mechanical review" continental European eBay tubas, and clockspring linkage is a nonstarter...noisy...old worn (probably not "mechanically reviewed") rotors.
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by peterbas »

It is a professional salesman.

But isn't the Sonora Heavy_Metal has a good copy of the Alexander.

Also for sale coincidently for 2900
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bloke
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

Sonora/Meister Gerhard Schneider/Musica/B&S/etc...

Those things are pretty darn good.

The entire range is remarkably solid...from the bottom range of the piano keyboard to the B-flat above middle c.
The tradeoff (vs. Miraphone 186) is that the "open" D is Mississippi-delta *FLAT.

I don't believe I could sell that tuba (in the USA) for $2900 - even with the dents removed and the linkage updated.

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* https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/i ... ields2.jpg
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by peterbas »

Something I would have been interested in buying, a B&S 104.

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Ever seen a german tuba with recording bell. (cant copy picture, click link)
https://www.marktplaats.nl/v/muziek-en- ... right-bell
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bloke (Thu Dec 26, 2024 8:19 pm)
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

I've always smiled favorably at the European instruments with recording bells. I've played a few of them including Miraphone and B/M, and - even though it's difficult for the player to hear the actual sound of any recording bell tuba - once I've managed to hear how they sound, they still sound like German rotary tubas, other than the sound going out in a different direction. Probably that's a good thing.
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by Heavy_Metal »

Sold- anyone here win it?
Principal tuba, Bel Air Community Band
Old (early 1900s?) Alexander BBb proto-163
1976 Sonora (B&S 101) 4-rotor BBb
1964 Conn 20J/21J BBb (one body, both bells)
1970s Marzan Slant-rotor BBb
~1904 York 3P BBb Helicon
Old Alex Comp.F, in shop
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bloke
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

I strove to communicate in (best I could manage) Deutsch with the seller.
He would never admit to it being an Alexander.
I told him just where to look for the name, and he claimed to not be able to tell, even though I'm pretty certain that it was too soon for it to have been either packed or shipped off - or picked up in-person by the buyer.
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arpthark
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by arpthark »

It's 99.9% an Alex, and I 100% did not win nor bid on the auction.
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bloke
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

We've all seen a couple if not more than a couple Alex tubas with replaced not-Alex bells.

It would have been easy to show the krantz and the name, and it would have been easy to have identified the instrument by its name in the auction.

It would have also have been easy for that seller to have just answered my questions yes or no, rather than feigning some lack of understanding of the questions which were clearly offered forth.

That wasn't done, and pictures were either out of focus or cut that part of the bell off in the pictures.

I'm not accusing anyone of foul play, but I'm leaving open the (OK...) at least .1% chance that it was yet another Frankenalex.

Again, over the years of us gossiping about eBay auctions, it wouldn't be the first one of those.

Hey...
Were there some (imo) underpriced B-flat Alex (that looked to NOT be some ancient relic) within driving distance of me, I'd go take a look.
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by humBell »

bloke wrote: Mon Dec 30, 2024 10:48 pm We've all seen a couple if not more than a couple Alex tubas with replaced not-Alex bells.

It would have been easy to show the krantz and the name, and it would have been easy to have identified the instrument by its name in the auction.

It would have also have been easy for that seller to have just answered my questions yes or no, rather than feigning some lack of understanding of the questions which were clearly offered forth.

That wasn't done, and pictures were either out of focus or cut that part of the bell off in the pictures.

I'm not accusing anyone of foul play, but I'm leaving open the (OK...) at least .1% chance that it was yet another Frankenalex.

Again, over the years of us gossiping about eBay auctions, it wouldn't be the first one of those.

Hey...
Were there some (imo) underpriced B-flat Alex (that looked to NOT be some ancient relic) within driving distance of me, I'd go take a look.
Looking at the bid history, i'm actually confused how it happened. If the increment is $25, how could the person bid $1550 and then $1599?


The timing of the retraction also implies the max bid was exposed by it, and the second bidder knew what they could bid up to.

Sigh...
"All art is one." -Hal
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bloke
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by bloke »

$25 was the MINIMUM bid increment...not the maximum...

...and the maximum bid does not necessarily show up on an item's page.
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by peterbas »

By using automatic bidding, you can enter any number.
He was clearly trying to see what the winner his maximum offer was.
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Re: I think this is an Alexander

Post by humBell »

bloke wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2025 3:37 pm $25 was the MINIMUM bid increment...not the maximum...

...and the maximum bid does not necessarily show up on an item's page.
But if you bid 1550, the other autobid enters 1575. At that point you cannot bid less than 1600.

The answer is probably that minimum increment thresholds are different in euros than in dollars.

Yup. The increment between 1k-5k euros is 10 euros.

So i am just a US centered ebayer. Ebayist?

But yeah, retraction happening within a minute clearly informed the bid. One more thing to complain about, as if the world didn't already provide enough of that.
"All art is one." -Hal
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