Posted by Rick Denney on July 25, 2001 at 10:07:32:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mirafone BBb to CC posted by Chuck(G) on July 24, 2001 at 23:54:12:
My bad. Allow me to attempt a more serious response:
1. A general overhaul of the instrument will cost you between $1500 and $2500. They will remove the dents, fix the leaks, fix up the valves (if they aren't too bad), remove the lacquer so that it has a uniform appearance, and so on. An econo overhaul would be the same basic thing, though without attempting to restore the brass to like-new smoothness, and without polishing and so on. That should cost you $1000-$2000 depending on the condition, particularly the condition of the valves. I found a brass tech who was starting out and trying to make a name for himself in my area, and let him to an econo overhaul on my Miraphone. This was about ten years ago, and he charged only $500. I felt like I was stealing money from his children, and one stipulation he had was that I had to come help him and keep him company while he did it (to which I readily agreed--it was a valuable learning experience for me). He did excellent work, but he didn't touch the valves (which didn't need it then but probably do now).
2. Converting to CC is an enormous task. I suspect you will not find a technician willing to do this at all, because the few techs who are capable of doing such things are very busy attempting to convert heirloom BBb tubas into top-grade CC's. Generally, they don't spend time making an instrument that can be easily bought used for less than the cost of the conversion. As to the cost of this, the cheapest converted horns I've seen sell for around $5000, but the ones that really show craftsmanship (or start with a rare and valuable tuba) sell for more like $8000-$11,000. In the former case, the instruments that were the starting point could be had for about $1500-2000 in medium condition, not including any new parts that would have been required. I suspect that those instruments are being sold at a loss, if the time investment is properly accounted.
3. Adding the fifth valve requires a new leadpipe, valve, and tubing parts. The parts alone, without the leadpipe, cost about $400 (I just bought a set that I'm considering adding as a fifth valve on my own 186), unless you can find a usable set on an otherwise junked horn. I figure a tech would charge another $400 (say, 8 or 10 hours of labor) to install it, for a total of $800. That may be a bit high--the real techs may not take so long.
To do everything, you'd easily spend $6000, and probably more like $8000, assuming you could find someone willing to do all the work. And the resulting tuba may or may not be any good at all, let alone as good as a real Miraphone 186-5U CC. If you just want a good 5-valve BBb, then the total cost would be between $2000 and $3000, depending on what you end up getting done and the current condition of the instrument. You can buy a used Miraphone 186 Bb (but without the fifth valve) for that.
Were it me, I'd do an econo overhaul, leave it in Bb and with four valves, to make it a good player. Then, you can sell it for perhaps as much as $1000 over what you'd spend (assuming the band gave you the instrument for a nominal cost), and apply that money to a use 186-5U CC tuba. Used Miraphone CC tubas cost about $3000 in decent condition--perhaps a bit more with the fifth valve.
Rick "with apologies to 'Curious'" Denney