Re: Tuba Quality


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Posted by Chuck(G) on November 10, 2002 at 14:50:18:

In Reply to: Tuba Quality posted by Tracy B. on November 10, 2002 at 14:15:31:

There isn't a tuba that's not at least partially hand-built.

Part of the quality of a good tuba is care in fitting and assembly, which is always done by hand. But there's sloppy work (like the York I just finished assembling that's a 1/2" shorter because of the sloppy original fit inside the ferrules) and there's the wonderful care and pride done by the Hirsbrunners and Nirschls of the tuba world. Apparently a lot of builders in the old days weren't any more careful than they are now.

Ding things carefully takes time and contributes to the overall price of an instrument. Technology can help a lot in weeding out the real dogs after they've been assembled, but there's no substitute for doing the job right in the first place.

I'd really like to see a tag or inscription on a finished instrument saying something like "Built by Otto Schickelgruber, 10-October-2002" or some such thing. This might weed out the mediocre labor from the really good crafts(wo)men.

My mindless rambling, of course.



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