Alex 163 BBb LOCAL SALE ONLY

[prodigal]

Congratulations! (Even though you're joining the dark.side).

You're still going to finish up your 186 project, correct?

[the elephant]

Yeah, totally. I have been in poor health for some time now, and our two cars are about to die for good. (The Jeep will need a new engine. The Honda is 25 years old with 450,000 miles on the ODO and in need of lots of stuff.)

Lots on the plate. In fact, I'll be getting two new eye lenses in a few weeks, I had a minor heart procedure recently, and I broke a molar in half.

Busy, busy, busy…

[bloke]

Congratulations.

I hope the shift comes a little bit easier to you than it did to me.

I went back through most of the most difficult books that I had worked on in my early to mid-20s and into my thirties over and over until I felt like was more comfortable playing them on a B-flat. (I'll say this: it absolutely gave me something to do. )

Something else, I can now finally pick the thing up, play some random pitch, and NOT wonder why C or E or G sounds like B flat or D or F.

psst: I would have sold you Fat Bastard,

[the elephant]

.

[the elephant]

Well, it fell through. I cannot get out there. It is still available, and Mary Ann is an excellent seller, very honest and accommodating. SOMEONE NEEDS TO BUY THIS TUBA.

[Mary Ann]

I want to publicly thank Wade for noticing in the video I made that the tuning slide is way out -- and now I remember I had to do that to get it down to pitch (this was quite a few months ago; I have had my own wild health things in the meantime.) The very last thing I would want to do is mis-represent something I'm selling, so it is coming back out of the box; I have some BBb chops now because of all the work I've been doing with the Hagen, and I will update on whether it needs a longer tuning slide to be at 440. The groups I play in all play quite sharp -- I have a 443 slide in the NStar and it is almost always all the way in, and I tend to play below the middle of the slot. So its being on the sharp side wasn't something that ran a flag up the pole for me.
I'll make another video and I'll sound a whole lot more competent in this second one, and we can all start over. Maybe this is why it sat there all this time -- it wasn't really ready to sell.

[bort2.0]

@the elephant -- I'm sorry to hear that, but I think we all understand your situation is complex to begin with, and the drive from Mississippi to Arizona is quite a long one. I know this must have been disappointing to both you and Mary Ann.

@Mary Ann -- does this take a normal Euro shank mouthpiece? I've had my eye in this for a while, and I'm still a ways off, but might have a positively changing situation over the next month or two. I once had an awesome 163 CC and probably shouldn't have sold it, but I did. It was fantastic, and like Joe, I kind of fell back into the BBb world the past couple of years. Bonus points, my grandmother's family came to the US from Mainz, Germany. Might be a stretch of a dream, but just thinking out loud.

[Mary Ann]

I now have a) got the box off the pallet; b) dragged the box inside from the garage (while my cat laughed at me;) c) got the tuba out of the box; (thankful to myself that I put peanuts in those plastic grocery bags instead of loose;) d) started to play it. I'm trying the usual suspects for mouthpieces, and reached the same conclusion as before: It likes the Mike Finns that came from its owner. I had even put the MF 2 in the box with it, in its own little separate box in a corner at the bow end, because that cup is too big for my face but the Alex really likes that cup. Comparing mouthpiece insertion to the Hagen, they go into the Alex about 1/8" farther than they do into the Hagen. So it is not one of those Monster Receivers.

So -- I have not yet put the tuner on it, instead using my ear to mess with it and get used to making it go. My ear is still pretty good. Yup the tuning slide is out quite a bit, but the valve slides are not extraordinarily far out. And they were not stuck!!! Kudos to the people who cleaned it and got it ready to go for me.

I have a way to go before I post more conclusions. It is a really nice tuba. I will make a MUCH better video than I did before.

[tofu]

Jeez - I was really hoping the elephant had bought this thing and finally make it go away out of sight. It sucks that shipping is such a nightmare these days. I’d be a buyer if I could find someone driving from AZ to Chicago or even to Lee Stofer’s out in Iowa where I’d have him go through it. I just can’t travel currently. Anybody going through the SW and on through Iowa?

[Lee Stofer]

My assistant Eric Murphy brought this to my attention. I'll hopefully be talking to Mary Ann today, and see about the Alexander coming to Iowa.

[Mary Ann]

I needed help to get it in the box to start with, that person has moved away, I am not in the physical shape I was in when I was carting it around getting it put on the pallet, and I did not want to be accused of misrepresenting it when someone did buy it, so it's back in my living room and I do not know about getting it back in a box and back on the pallet. It may simply end up another one of my tubas until I find someone local who wants it, or someone willing to drive here. Sometimes things just are what they are.

[mkainuma]

Hi Mary Ann,
I'm interested and can be reached at mkainuma at aol com
Thanks!
Best,
Morris

[Mary Ann]

Just saw this -- you need the @ sign in front of my name before i will get tagged.

[aarongsmith]

@Mary Ann Morris probably is not on here a lot. He's a great person to deal with if you have not reached out to him.

[Mary Ann]

Just emailed him this morning.

[tofu]

@Mary Ann Is there an update on the tuning situation with this horn? What shape are the valves in? Do you know what work has been done to the horn over the years and its approximate age?

I’m trying to find a friend of mine who was a trombonist I played with years ago in a small jazz combo. He retired to Phoenix and also had a place in Door County, WI. where he spends the summers/fall. He used to drive from one place to the other with his wife so he might be able to transport this for me. I know last time he came through though he had some health issues and we didn’t see him this summer - so I’m not sure what shape he’s in currently.

[Mary Ann]

We now have a good brass person here and I'm taking it in Monday to see about having a longer tuning slide made. For some reason when I made the video it didn't "make an impression" on me that I had the tuning slide so far out. It was Wade who pointed that out after seeing the video I made (He is a better detail person than I am.) I have found little bitty dents on it but nothing major, not at all unusual for a tuba this age. And the finish is intact; you can see that in the pictures.
I will ask the tech to make an assessment of the valves, which to me seem fine.

Your friend would be in WI now and not back in Phx (if he is smart) before November, so it seems he'd be driving the wrong way until next spring.

Somewhere along the line the age got estimated at 20 years or so; I am not good at assessing what work may have been done. It does play reasonably well in tune but requires a bit more air than the Hagen. The mouthpieces I have go into the leadpipe about 1/8 inch farther than they do in the Hagen.

I should make another video, because I am quite a bit more competent on BBb now than I was when I made the first one; I could play in tune but tone was not what it is now.

[pmgtuba]

Beautiful horn! I hope someone buys this before my other Alex tubas convince me they want a new sibling ...

[Mary Ann]

Thx. Getting a tuning slide is being a bit problematic. I had queried through Wichita who is a dealer, and they do not seem to understand the difference between "new tuning slide" and "440Hz tuning slide." I'm finding that amazing. I think I'm going to write to Alexander myself, and skip the muddled middle.

[Mary Ann]

And I'm getting the same stuff from Alexander, which amazes me. They want ME to tell THEM how long I want the slide to be, as it appears they have no idea what Hz the tuba was designed to play at, and want me to figure out both that and the length of the new tuning slide. I am astounded.