Tuba Rental Seattle

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bubblelord
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:01 am

Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by bubblelord »

Hey everyone,

I am hoping to spend some free time learning tuba this summer, but don't know where to look to rent / borrow a tuba. I'm in the Seattle area. Anybody have any advice for where to look?

Cheers
quiethorn
Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:36 pm
Location: Seattle-ish
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Re: Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by quiethorn »

It looks like Music & Arts or Kennelly Keys don't list tuba rentals on their websites. You could call and ask if they rent or if not, if they know where.
Sweaty
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2018 7:32 pm

Re: Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by Sweaty »

Because of the limited supply, renting a tuba is crazy expensive. I believe it would be cheaper to buy a decent used one and resell it later.
timothy42b
Posts: 1479
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2018 5:51 am
Location: central Virginia

Re: Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by timothy42b »

https://mackbrass.com/tu422l-3%2F4-bbb-tuba

Tom is my neighbor, and he has a good reputation for service. These are Chinese copies but he does some extra quality control on them.
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BGuttman
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Location: Cow Hampshire

Re: Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by BGuttman »

timothy42b wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 8:00 am https://mackbrass.com/tu422l-3%2F4-bbb-tuba

Tom is my neighbor, and he has a good reputation for service. These are Chinese copies but he does some extra quality control on them.
Kinda far from Seattle, no?
Bruce Guttman
Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
"Almost Professional"
Crazy4Tbone86
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Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:52 am

Re: Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by Crazy4Tbone86 »

Sweaty wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 6:21 am Because of the limited supply, renting a tuba is crazy expensive. I believe it would be cheaper to buy a decent used one and resell it later.
If is difficult to find a business that will rent a tuba, but I don't think it is a lack of instrument supply. It is really a "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" situation. If a flute or trumpet fall off of a table (remember, most renters are young, school-aged kids), the repairs are relatively easy and the instrument maintains a very high percentage of its original valve. Many of the smaller instruments can be rented multiple times and still be in great condition, even with several repairs.

If a tuba falls off of a table (again, most renters are kids) the damage can be enormous plus the repairs can be very labor-intensive and expensive. A tuba with crushed tubing instantly looses a large percentage of its original value. The tooling for tuba repairs is also very expensive. I think music retailers avoid renting tubas because it would be very tough to make a profit.
Brian D. Hinkley - Player, Teacher, Technician and Trombone Enthusiast
timothy42b
Posts: 1479
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2018 5:51 am
Location: central Virginia

Re: Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by timothy42b »

BGuttman wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 9:33 am
timothy42b wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 8:00 am https://mackbrass.com/tu422l-3%2F4-bbb-tuba

Tom is my neighbor, and he has a good reputation for service. These are Chinese copies but he does some extra quality control on them.
Kinda far from Seattle, no?
Still might be cheaper even paying shipping costs. What would they be, couple hundred USD?
fsgazda
Posts: 183
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:35 am
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Re: Tuba Rental Seattle

Post by fsgazda »

Try contacting Dan Oberloh. He's a repair tech who sells tubas also. No idea if he rents, but he knows the tuba community in Seattle.

http://www.oberloh.com/
Frank S. Gazda
Professor of Music, Delaware State University
Freelance Low Brass, Mid-Atlantic
www.firststatebrass.com
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