Posted by Joseph on May 23, 2003 at 19:38:28:
In Reply to: A bore-ing question. posted by Steven on May 23, 2003 at 12:37:28:
I wouldn't buy a piece of junk that you *know* is a piece of junk unless you just don't care to lose the money when it comes time to sell five months later and you've already outgrown it. A better bet would be to fork over the cash and pay a local pro whom you trust to guide you to a horn that will work for you for the long run. He might know of something local that you didn't.. he/she is more likely to have those kind of connections. I would much rather buy the right horn the first time and spend every possible moment learning it rather than waste time and money on something that I'm always wondering if it's really right for me or am likely to blame for my own inadequencies.
There are other choices.
If I were you I would try out a York Monster Eb or similar such instrument. They sale pretty regularly on Ebay for what appears to be your price range. Not a soloists Eb.. they tend to put out more of a contrabass tuba sound while maintaining an ease of playing that I think you will find much more comfortable as a beginner than any multithousand dollar horn. I have a good amatuer tuba playing friend that plays one as his main axe 90% of the time. He's owned it for many years and I know he'll never replace it.
Baltimore Brass has a York Eb 3 valve front action horn for $550 that you might want to call and ask about. Could very potentially be the horn for you for life.
Point of information: there is no practical distinction between an Eb and an EEb. That nomenclature was created by a bunch of marketing guys to differentiate between big and small Ebs but they all play the same notes with the same fingerings and still sound like a tuba.
good luck,
joseph