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I'm selling my Eastman 853 Eb compensating tuba, which I purchased as a new "demo" in January of this year.

It comes with a nice hard case and a Shires 8 mouthpiece. I had Martin Wilk add extra bracing (it came with rather minimal bracing) and realign the valves, which included machining the valve caps. I also had Martin shorten the third valve slides and take a little off the inner branch to improve intonation. This horn is in raw brass (not lacquer), so the finish is uneven as it ages.

I have over $6,000 in this horn and I am asking for $5,000 in hopes of a quick sale. I am looking to fund another horn being built for me by Martin.

The horn is in SE Michigan.

Photos are here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

I have some videos of the horn. Here is a basic demo without manipulating any slides for tuning. I can take credit for all the mistakes. Trust me, it's not the horn...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh7B_1TrnOI

Here's another etude with the horn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDnsOMYFFKo

Please email me at r4ragtimeband@gmail.com for more information.

William

The Google drive link is telling me to request access. Can you make it a public folder?

Sorry about that. Should be public now.

I’m curious what about the horn has you looking to have another horn built in it’s stead.
For whatever it’s worth, I have this model, and I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit so far, though that hasn’t been long. Mr. P seems to pull slides more than I’ve found the need for so far, and I’m wondering if my ears just aren’t as good, I haven’t played it with enough other players, or maybe the manufacturing date is different? Mine was in my hands a week or two after it got state side, so it’s a very recent batch, and I know this horn has had revisions since the first couple of batches. Anyway, all that to say, I like mine a lot, and I bet this is a pretty good horn.

That's a tough question to answer, because I've waffled on whether to keep this one or not. I like the size of this horn very much. I like the sound and Martin Wilk has made some improvements which I really like. For a long time, I played on a Willson 3400, which is kind of my standard, familiar Eb tuba. That said I would like an Eb tuba to function more as my small horn, which is why I went to the smaller 853 design. It is my first compensator, and it has a different response -- I find myself missing the more open feel of my past Willson, in spite of its size. I have had the good fortune of having Martin Wilk build me one tuba and rebuild another and I have been so impressed with his work. He has an Eb in progress that I'd like to have. I think it'll be a good combination of what I'm looking for. Time will tell.

I sure would like to play one of these!

still for sale?

Could be, but I have to admit I've been playing it everyday for the last month or two and it's growing on me. If you're interested, you can email me at r4ragtimeband@gmail.com to work out an arrangement to try it.
Thanks
William