My older son turns 8 next week... time to get going and see what he likes, so I kind of want to pick up an old 3/4 BBb tuba to see what he thinks of it and how he might do. He's a good-sized kid, built solid and somewhere between 4.5 and 5 feet tall.
My 1895 Conn Eb is a really good size for him (it's a little smaller than my Martin medium Eb), but it's not in a good state of repair (and probably not worth the $ it would take to get it to that point... although, I bought it for $30). It would be really nice to find something small and old but in BBb.
I had been considering an Olds O-99, but they might be a little tall, still, and LOL they seem to have gotten expensive! I had also considered euphonium at one point, but 1) he doesn't seem to like that very much and 2) neither do I
.* Pretty small... roughly 30-34" in height,
* American made (Europe is fine, but nowhere else)
* Bluntly -- not interested in the Yamaha 3/4 tubas at all
* Pistons (3v upright or 3v front). Rotors okay if European, but not counting on that anyway
* Ugly is fine but not junky/destroyed. Needs to be functional.
* ^That is, it has to work well enough for a kid to learn, and not think "am I doing this wrong or is the tuba broken?"
Not sure what the budget is, but probably not more than a few hundred... my expectations are set accordingly.
Thanks!
