Baltimore brass closing

[LeMark]

Man, that sucks. It was one of the great tuba stores out there.

As of October 31st, 2022 Baltimore Brass Company will be closing. This difficult decision comes as a result of the impact of the Pandemic and current rate of inflation. As we are currently exploring prospects for new ownership, we must accept that this may not be a reality. Owners of consignment instruments do not be concerned. Over the next few weeks you will all get a personal phone call from David Fedderly about how you would like your instrument handled and the several options you will have.
Thank you all for the support and friendship we have all shared for the past 30 years. This has been a great run.
Sincerely,
David Fedderly

[Doc]

I just saw this on FB. This does, indeed, suck. It sucks big time.

[bort2.0]

Shirt!

[Three Valves]

Ooof!!

[bisontuba]

Sigh...

[Rick Denney]

I hate to see it.

But it has to be at least in part the result of no in-person conferences, particularly the Army workshop, which seemed to me always a lynchpin in the BB annual show cycle.

Rick "wondering if we'll ever have an Army tuba workshop again" Denney

[cjk]

Shirt!

yeah, this.

[bort2.0]

Let's be real though... How old is Dave? He's been retired from Symphony for quite a while, and even as a retirement job, he's been at this for a long time. Even without a pandemic inflation or lack of conferences, the time must've been coming soon, and considered for quite a while.

With small businesses, when the owner wants to retire they either close it or sell it... Or rarely, pass it along to the next generation and their family. We'll have to wait and see what happens here, but it wouldn't be surprised if it just closed. I'm not sure what it's like in maryland, but out here there are some pretty tough employment regulations for small businesses, and it's far more expensive to do business and it was before, because of all the extra stuff they have to pay for. Good for employees, until it hurts their employer.. which happens pretty quickly. So many stores now , especially restaurants, have kept their prices the same, but add some kind of charge of 10 15 20% to cover staff benefits or whatever they call it.

Over the years, I've heard people at music stores say things like there's no money in used tubas, and also there's no money in new tubas. I've always interpreted this I mean that there's not much money in the business at all.

I'm sad to see it go. It's just a couple miles away from where I grew up. My mom used to drag me with her to sewing store that's right next to it.

Lots of memories.

Who knows, maybe the next great tuba store will be born out of some guy's basement in Minneapolis

[Worth]

Very sorry to hear this

[ParLawGod]

Very sad to hear that Baltimore Brass is closing...however, I hope Dave has an enjoyable retirement (he deserves it!).

[cktuba]

Very sorry hear this. But wishing David Fedderly the very best!

[bloke]

I completely understand.

Things have really changed, and are going to continue to change.

They're going to continue to change so very quickly that many (who thought they were in favor of all of the changes) are going to scream, "WHAT !?!?!?"

Hey Dave,
I really enjoy our private text/message conversations and jokes, and your business has served many people very well.

[bort2.0]

Well crap, now I feel like I need to buy something from them. I bought my first tuba from them. Should maybe buy another?

Someone already did me/them a solid and bought the Scherzer. What else has been there forever...?

[hrender]

This is often the crux of the problem:

As we are currently exploring prospects for new ownership, we must accept that this may not be a reality.

Operating any brick-and-mortar establishment is a labor of love, and the people who want to do operate such an establishment (to say nothing of frequent such an establishment) seem to be getting fewer and fewer.

I wish Mr. Fedderly a happy retirement during which he knows that he will be missed.

[Three Valves]

Wife says,

“Now how am I going to unload your crap if you die first??”

I says.

“ME die first?? How can you be so selfish??”

[kingrob76]

I was buying stuff from Dave when he was doing business out of his basement, close to 25 years ago. One of the best people you'll ever meet, never mind best people in the tuba world. Dave moved to South Carolina a couple of years ago and had guys running the shop for him while he kept a watchful eye remotely - and he was involved. The business had grown well beyond the "mom and pop" phase many years ago. I suspect this has been in the works for a while because I've watched their overall inventory dry up for several months now. This leaves a hole in our world without question.

[the elephant]

I bought an F tuba from him in 1997. I bought one of his original BBC playing stands and still have it, and it is still a beast, of higher quality than any other tuba playing stand out there right now.

I will be sorry to see this business go. Good luck, Dave.

[bort2.0]

I'd better try to get one of those tuba stands before they close...

[bloke]

I'd better try to get one of those tuba stands before they close...

[tofu]

I've always tried to do business with & repeat business with reputable people even if it cost a little more upfront as it was always about the value of the transaction and not the price. BB was one of those places. They stood behind their stuff and if there was a problem went above and beyond to resolve it - and it was never a hassle or drawn out argument. BB will be missed - the # of people & places that I consider reliable & reputable in the tuba world continues to get ever smaller.

It's an offshoot of the "i"ll buy online from mega retailer to save a couple more bucks" mentality with no thought to who is going to service that or fix it when it has an issue. It's happening in lots of small businesses. Then people wonder what happen to all the places they'd go physically check stuff out at and then order from Mega-retailer online. Now all those little places are fast disappearing. People tell me well they have to look out for themselves first and if that means saving a couple bucks so be it. Let somebody else support the local business so I can still check out stuff locally and buy online. Except the small guys can survive on that - so those places and jobs disappear. And the richness they add to the community disappears too.