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Want Bell damage opinion from the pros
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prodigal
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Re: Want Bell damage opinion from the pros
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- the elephant (Sun Jul 26, 2026 7:12 pm)
1960 186CC
B&S 5099/PT-15
Cerveny 653
B&S PT-1
A bunch of string instruments
B&S 5099/PT-15
Cerveny 653
B&S PT-1
A bunch of string instruments
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bloke
- Mid South Music
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Re: Want Bell damage opinion from the pros
For me to buy something that needs work that I'm not particularly interested in playing myself, it needs to be at a ridiculously low price, within commuting distance, and maybe even with a friend even near to it who has some cash money in their pocket going and picking it up for me (and running the errand in exchange for some repair work).
ex: a 36J with absolutely every possible desirable feature ..
- silver plated finish intact
- one piece upright 22-in bell
- four front action pistons (.768" bore)
- factory #1 circuit upper slide
- no cracks nor patches
- no missing parts and all parts original
I'm not a fan of those tubas, but when something like that is really inexpensive and really close by... Yeah I'm going to buy it, fix it up some, and flip it quick.
ex: a 36J with absolutely every possible desirable feature ..
- silver plated finish intact
- one piece upright 22-in bell
- four front action pistons (.768" bore)
- factory #1 circuit upper slide
- no cracks nor patches
- no missing parts and all parts original
I'm not a fan of those tubas, but when something like that is really inexpensive and really close by... Yeah I'm going to buy it, fix it up some, and flip it quick.
Re: Want Bell damage opinion from the pros
They used to demo play every instrument they had for sale; I did find that charming:
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tclements
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Re: Want Bell damage opinion from the pros
I'd get a new bell.
Tony Clements
http://tonyclem.blogspot.com
http://tonyclem.blogspot.com
Re: Want Bell damage opinion from the pros
I listened a bit back and forth to the video belonging to the discussed 163 comparing with other instruments presented on elder videos and some of which I played myself.
Especially the low register seems to be very accessible and consistent. For me the tuba is worth testing if I'd want an Alexander for an affordable price. The linkage looks strange but at least someone put some effort into it to "modernize" with minibal to today's standard. I would leave the bell as it is. But I think shipping would kill the tempting price and the damage risk is also high. Until I found my current Kaisertuba I saw also interesting instruments offered in the US where I hesitated to buy for the same reasons.
Especially the low register seems to be very accessible and consistent. For me the tuba is worth testing if I'd want an Alexander for an affordable price. The linkage looks strange but at least someone put some effort into it to "modernize" with minibal to today's standard. I would leave the bell as it is. But I think shipping would kill the tempting price and the damage risk is also high. Until I found my current Kaisertuba I saw also interesting instruments offered in the US where I hesitated to buy for the same reasons.