TubaForum.net

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224325086866?h ... Swz6RgCwK~

It caught my eye because I missed a deal on a used one locally for my 683 Cerveny (an odd size). Not custom made for your horn, but the size and color options are cool. Plus there is free shipping.

Brad

The seller name hints that it is the manufacturer (that also whole-sells to retailers) that is not only retailing, but discounting.

Going to the Cronkhite website, they have a 20% off coupon code right now...

For a Cerveny 681 (not sure how that compares to the 683), after shipping and tax, I see a price of $613.31.

I'd consider going straight through them first, before eBay.

A year or two ago, contacting Cronkhite was really tricky, and their production was slow, and it was just kind of a mess. I had an order with them through Lee Stofer for my Alexander, and we ended up cancelling it because it simply took too long.

As I understand it, that's a thing of the past, and capacity is ramped up and things are a lot better now. I've traded emails with the company a few times without any troubles.

Good luck!

At least one vendor with whom I am familiar charges a mark-up on ebay, likely to cover the ebay fees. Buying from them directly is cheaper.

With eBay charging 12.55% to non-stores (who get a slight discount) I'm sure that fee is being passed on in the pricing...

I’m just glad that I have the tubas that I need/want, as well as “good/used/picked-up-here-and-there” San Francisco bags that fit each of them.

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:59 pm Going to the Cronkhite website, they have a 20% off coupon code right now...

For a Cerveny 681 (not sure how that compares to the 683), after shipping and tax, I see a price of $613.31.

I'd consider going straight through them first, before eBay.

A year or two ago, contacting Cronkhite was really tricky, and their production was slow, and it was just kind of a mess. I had an order with them through Lee Stofer for my Alexander, and we ended up cancelling it because it simply took too long.

As I understand it, that's a thing of the past, and capacity is ramped up and things are a lot better now. I've traded emails with the company a few times without any troubles.

Good luck!

I think they are now local to Minneapolis? I wonder if one could just stop by and pick one up rather than deal with shipping. I still have my 20 plus year old Reunion Blues before they separated from Glen. Cant justify a new one. That chocolate brown leather looks really nice though.

JRaymo wrote: ↑Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:48 pm

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:59 pm Going to the Cronkhite website, they have a 20% off coupon code right now...

For a Cerveny 681 (not sure how that compares to the 683), after shipping and tax, I see a price of $613.31.

I'd consider going straight through them first, before eBay.

A year or two ago, contacting Cronkhite was really tricky, and their production was slow, and it was just kind of a mess. I had an order with them through Lee Stofer for my Alexander, and we ended up cancelling it because it simply took too long.

As I understand it, that's a thing of the past, and capacity is ramped up and things are a lot better now. I've traded emails with the company a few times without any troubles.

Good luck!

I think they are now local to Minneapolis? I wonder if one could just stop by and pick one up rather than deal with shipping. I still have my 20 plus year old Reunion Blues before they separated from Glen. Cant justify a new one. That chocolate brown leather looks really nice though.

Yep, they are in Minneapolis, and actually right near where the riots were the worst. Also, across the street from my local repair person.

Yes, you can definitely order and pick up local. I've asked them that before and they were totally open to the idea. You will have to pay local sales tax though. I guess you already live in Minnesota, and we'll have to do that anyway, but if you ordered from a different state I'm not sure what those rules are for that state... But it seems like a local pickup is not an issue at all.

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 10, 2022 7:02 pm
Yep, they are in Minneapolis, and actually right near where the riots were the worst. Also, across the street from my local repair person.

Yes, you can definitely order and pick up local. I've asked them that before and they were totally open to the idea. You will have to pay local sales tax though. I guess you already live in Minnesota, and we'll have to do that anyway, but if you ordered from a different state I'm not sure what those rules are for that state... But it seems like a local pickup is not an issue at all.

My friend google says 2645 26th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55406, in the Seward neighborhood, maybe a mile from where I've purchased most of my Scooters (Scooterville https://www.scootervillemn.com/). Who knew? I guess that makes sense, there are a lot of artistic types in South Minneapolis.

I might have to track down your local repair person :)

My 683 is a shorty at 34" tall. The 681 is 39". Josef Götz makes a Supersac specific for my horn, $339 plus shipping from Germany. Guard makes a shorty case also $259 w free shipping. But both are top loaders, I'd kind of like a suitcase style.

Furguson11 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:09 pm I might have to track down your local repair person :)

Laurel Chapman -- https://www.chapmanrepair.com/

She swapped out the valve linkages on my Willson (installed the new Willson parts from Switzerland) and did a really nice job with it. She also did a great job with the rebuild/restore of my PT-7... which had a bit of shipping damage, plus lots of little surprises and things to fix. Really great work.

Her shop is in the appropriately-named Ivy Building:


Which is across the street from this dive bar that burned down in the riots (I literally drove past this a few hours before it burned down... freaky)


When the Hex Bar burned down, the burning embers set the roof of the Ivy Building on fire. The fire was put out, but the building suffered extreme water damage from the sprinklers and, well, fighting a fire on the roof. So, Laurel's shop is still closed and being rebuilt. Last I heard, it was getting pretty close to reopening!

This is where Cronkhite is in relation to all that. I guess they were lucky and just on the favorable side of the wind to not get burned down as well, or had a different kind of roof, or...?

My 683 is a shorty at 34" tall. The 681 is 39". Josef Götz makes a Supersac specific for my horn, $339 plus shipping from Germany. Guard makes a shorty case also $259 w free shipping. But both are top loaders, I'd kind of like a suitcase style.
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I may have a Cronkite case that would fit your 683. Suitcase style and I live in the Minneapolis area. If you’re interested let’s talk

Were I looking for a California-style top-quality case bought NEW - right now, I'd probably only consider Tom Rice's "SuperFine" bags (aka "cases").

https://superfinecases.com/

I'm under the impression that he's not particularly personally fond of me for whatever reason(s) , but I don't choose/buy stuff based on whether-or-not someone "likes" me. I'm not buying a "buddy"; I'm buying a product...
...and when a product doesn't cause problems nor fail, I neither need the seller/fabricator to be my buddy nor (particularly) offer me (though I believe he offers a good warranty) a "warranty".

Finally, I view his offering to repair bags (from any maker) as quite generous.
Shoe-shop/luggage people often don't seem eager to deal with them, or don't quite know how to deal with them.

I sent one of my best friends to buy a specialty bag from Mr. Rice (for a vintage Miraphone straight-bell kaiser bariton - aka "tenor tuba", with which I did a good job of converting from "wallhanger art" back to "fine instrument"), and my friend is eager to receive that bag.

I had a top-loading Superfine bag for my Alex 163 and it was excellent, and anyone can ask me anything about it, happy to share my experience.

BTW, SuperFine is based near San Francisco (I know, probably a world away to Tom, but to me when I look at a map, I think "San Francisco"). So when I think of SuperFine, I think of them as "SF Cases", with the double meaning of "Super Fine" and "San Francisco."

They aren't inexpensive, and they aren't cheap either.