Meinl-Weston 5450RA "Tuono" with hardware store repairs

[gocsick]

And an unfortunate skin condition

https://www.ebay.com/itm/355661350518?i ... Swx6tmKCUU

[arpthark]

What in the world?

And it's local to me...

[Sousaswag]

This tuba was for sale on the old forum long ago. I remember being frustrated with the seller’s lack of communication.

Blake… This is the perfect rotor C for you! Not a bad price either.

[arpthark]

*

[Sousaswag]

To me, it looks like that tuba has been sitting for a L O N G time. It’s probably a nice player, but I agree the finish and damage is off putting.

It reminds me of what my Willson F looked like when I bought it after years of neglect. Hopefully it hasn’t been ran over!

[Tubajug]

That is certainly one heckuva patina!

[arpthark]

Wouldn't be too bad if the initial lacquer strip had been complete.

[Dents Be Gone!]

I agree, guys. This is the way to go.

[arpthark]

Tuono = thunder

... maybe struck by lightning?

[bloke]

Tuono = thunder

... maybe struck by lightning?

The way you love me is frightening

You know, I used to be pretty smart, before I was struck by Lightnin'.

[kingrob76]

offer half and cite the fact it looks like it's been digested by Godzilla

[cktuba]

A Tuono was my main target when I was looking. But that looks like a HUGE roll of the dice. You could low ball offer and put in a couple K toward repair and come out with a gem. Or... NOT... Those are dice I (personally) would not roll. But to each his or her own.

[Sousaswag]

This is really a candidate for a pre-purchase inspection. I want the details on what happened to this thing.

[arpthark]

*

[bort2.0]

In that condition, I think this is a $6k -- $7k tuba.

However, if the owner spent about $1,000 on repairs and cleaning up the finish to a normal raw brass state, I bet they could get to the $8k -- $9k range. But the problem still remains, it's a high-end tuba that has some very visible and really weird problems. And that does not build confidence about hidden problems you can't see on the internet. Whoever had this, did not take very good care of it

In the end, I think somebody will buy this for some amount, and end up with a really fine tuba. I would just costing that person to not overspend up front, and clearly understand the amount of money needed to make it right

[bloke]

QUESTION:
Is that price to buy the tuba, or is that the price to put that custom finish on one of MY tubas?

[arpthark]

Just saw this pop up again:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/355661350518?m ... media=COPY

[MiBrassFS]

Heh, heh… that receiver brace…

[Sousaswag]

I still think someone could probably have a good instrument if they put in some $$$ for a cleaning and whatever work it needs.

But…

Without knowing what happened to it, it’s a huge risk. Is this the result of it being in/near a fire? Or is it the result of someone stripping it and doing a bad job? Who knows…

Some here will remember I owned a very nice one of these for about a year. They’re great instruments that are very easy to play. I’d bet someone will like it if they deem it worthy of taking the chance.

[arpthark]

Gosh, it’s so close to me. A couple years ago I had toyed with the idea of checking it out, but now I’m pretty much fully committed elsewhere.

Granted everything is mechanically okay, I’d fix the Ace Hardware stopgaps, finish stripping the lacquer, polish it, and let it develop a natural/nice brass patina. It’s so odd to see such a nice boutique horn have marching band dad-level repairs.