Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 14, 2003 at 07:38:30:
In Reply to: Re: Big Tuba Price Reasons? posted by Ray N on July 13, 2003 at 21:35:01:
I basically agree with what you're saying except one example. I have had several lengthy conversations with the folks that make/sell the Yorkbrunner (Grand Orchestral) model. When they first started making these horns, the larger parts (especially the bell and bottom bow) were all hand hammered and reputed to take very long times to produce. I once asked why the horns were so expensive and, further, since they were so expensive and there was a waiting list to get one (at that time), why wasn't the factory turning more out? I don't remember the exact numbers quoted but it was stated that the process of producing a bottom bow for one of these tubas took something like a couple of weeks and it involved a large percentage of the factory's workforce to do so. This put an effective cap on the numbers of this model that could be produced annually, and made it crucial to sell them at a very expensive price to recoup the lost profits from production of other models while the staff was tied up making these parts. This is just one example that I know of where something other than market forces factored into the price of a horn.
My opinion for what it's worth...