With me, it's the parent of a first chair of an all state band (realize that I'm close to several states, here) who is also the treasurer of a band with which I do a whole bunch of business.
This one is one of those King 2341 detachable bell tubas with the (more desirable) 19" upright bell, and upper #1 slide.
ANOTHER one (just like it) had come in from the same school with the valve casings trashed by pliers, and (guess what?) the same (f'ed up in just the same way) with this one.
Not only all that and more, but the #2 piston was also trashed. After repairing the valve casings and upper male threads, I had to take a triangular needle file and file the DENTS out of the valve guide tracks in the valve casings. ...and they had trashed two upper valve caps, so I had to replace those, and the bell was all beat up, the body was all beat up, the lower #4 slide bow was smushed flat, and there were several unsoldered joints, as well as folded inside slide tubes.
I was last-worded, and shut down when I suggested that it was understood - in the past - that adults are more important than children (as they are the producers, rather than the apprentices), that taxpayers (who struggle and are not necessarily over-leveraged via optional purchases) shouldn't be expected to buy professional-grade instruments for school children to use for free - and with no consequences regarding destroying those instruments. I was told that its all about "standards". Further, I was told that the children in the "standards" person's state are all above average, all the women are strong, and all the men are good-looking.
...so (while desperately trying to get several schools' toe-up school-cost $2500 Yamaha marching thises-and-thats all slicked about out for band camp (in order to be all toe-up again), I had to stop - today - and un-destroy this tuba for the "best child tuba player in the state".
yes...but there's - OK, "figuratively", not virtually - an infinite demand for my skills, I could easily charge more than I do, and - some may forget - I'm a taxpayer too, and this "buying professional quality equipment so it can get toe-up and/or stolt" for children needs to STOP...OK...along with approximately 75% of the rest of gov't spending, but - WHOOPS !!! - don't say that bloke, because that's "political" 'n' stuff.but bloke, you make your money off of straightening out all that stuff.
bloke "It would have been much better, and up to higher standards, had they toe-up a Miraphone 497, instead."
With several trailer-loads of toe-up stuff here, this is all the time I had to spend in this best-child's-in-the-state use-free-of-charge instrument (and yeah, there are still quite a few "wavy" spots, and I'm really concerned about it being up to that child's standards...but I have to get back to smashed-flat sousaphones, marching baritones, and the like.
