for those who might be interested in replacement bells for Holton 345 tubas
Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2023 9:12 am
Miraphone is back from vacation, and I've started a dialogue about these. Again, we are discussing model 98 bells with regular French rims (the regular type of rims which are found on American instruments) and no engraving.
Based on my measurements, these are extremely similar to 345 bells in dimensions and - based on my experience - these are absolutely wonderful-sounding bells.
The price I was quoted seems reasonable - based on the hyperinflation we've all experienced, and of course the shipping is expensive, but I couldn't imagine only buying one, and would surely not buy any unless several people chose to purchase one or more (having several shipped in one tuba carton from Germany, perhaps with some of that thick corrugated type of paper separating them from each other).
Further, bell damage is so common - even when shipped properly - that I would probably ask people to drive here to pick them up in person, even if they lived a thousand miles away. Alternate ideas would be to have someone passing through here pick them up and take them to their buyers. The only way that I would consider shipping them from here to a possible buyer would be if the buyer completely signed off on damage claims prior to me even shipping them, and even though I would pack them as if I was shipping them to myself with extreme care.
I'm not going to discuss pricing at this time, or whether I'm actually going to follow through with this, but I do know that the price per bell would have only a "1" on the front end of it.
I've said all I care to say it this time, and even if someone sends me a private message, I probably won't have any more specific information to offer, because I haven't made any decisions.
The purpose of this post is just to let people know that I'm exploring this, and wasn't just "wondering" about it - when I mentioned it before.
Based on my measurements, these are extremely similar to 345 bells in dimensions and - based on my experience - these are absolutely wonderful-sounding bells.
The price I was quoted seems reasonable - based on the hyperinflation we've all experienced, and of course the shipping is expensive, but I couldn't imagine only buying one, and would surely not buy any unless several people chose to purchase one or more (having several shipped in one tuba carton from Germany, perhaps with some of that thick corrugated type of paper separating them from each other).
Further, bell damage is so common - even when shipped properly - that I would probably ask people to drive here to pick them up in person, even if they lived a thousand miles away. Alternate ideas would be to have someone passing through here pick them up and take them to their buyers. The only way that I would consider shipping them from here to a possible buyer would be if the buyer completely signed off on damage claims prior to me even shipping them, and even though I would pack them as if I was shipping them to myself with extreme care.
I'm not going to discuss pricing at this time, or whether I'm actually going to follow through with this, but I do know that the price per bell would have only a "1" on the front end of it.
I've said all I care to say it this time, and even if someone sends me a private message, I probably won't have any more specific information to offer, because I haven't made any decisions.
The purpose of this post is just to let people know that I'm exploring this, and wasn't just "wondering" about it - when I mentioned it before.