Re: Re: classified honesty.


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Posted by Rick Denney on July 12, 2001 at 16:32:04:

In Reply to: Re: classified honesty. posted by John Swensen on July 12, 2001 at 15:44:56:

This is sensible. And when someone says that their horn was once owned by this famous player or picked out of a line by that famous player, then they are saying that it has already been proxy tested. It isn't as good as a test by your favorite trusted professional, but it's better than nothing.

It is easy to blame the sellers for including what may be garbage in the ad, but (assuming the garbage in question is merely fluff and not a lie) it is the responsibility of the buyer to assess the worth. Buyer's Remorse is a self-inflicted syndrome, caused by tuba lust and poor expectation control. At its root, it is based on the notion that "I would be a good player if I just had the right horn." That is, of course, a myth, but it underlies most cases of buyer's remorse.

When I bought the York Master, I paid more for this 30 or 40-year-old horn what a new tuba might have cost (I won't say which one, heh, heh), and much more than I thought I was prepared to pay. My own test was limited and based on chops that were in sad condition at the time. I compared it with other horns, but not with any of my own current horns. But the horn had been owned by first-class professionals, which eliminated the possibility that it was a dog. When I bought it, I gave it a year to prove itself. That year is up this week, and it's still the horn I take to rehearsal. Otherwise, I'd sell it, telling people about the famous players who once owned it, and probably get what I paid for it.

Some years ago, I bought another tuba on the prompting of a teacher. I sent my Miraphone out for an overhaul in preparation for selling it, and when I got it back four months later I found that it was the horn I wanted to take to rehearsals and gigs. The new one got sold. Did I feel I'd made a mistake? No, because I didn't expect the new horn to be the end-all of tubas, and I didn't expect it to magically turn me into a great player. I consider what I lost on the resale of the tuba to be rent on the horn for the time the Miraphone was being overhauled, and it was a darn cheap rental.

Rick "a victim of Buyer's Remorse only by his own choice" Denney


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