Wagnertuben available for rental, with or without players or coaching

Fellow San Francisco Bay Area freelance hornist Alicia Telford and I own a matched set of four historic Wagnertuben that are available for rental, with or without players.

History

Our tuben are a matched set of Alexanders picked out by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1952, during the Fritz Reiner era. We have a pair of single B-flat tuben and a pair of single F tuben. They were the CSO's main set of tuben for several decades. In 1988, the CSO sold the set to the Dallas Symphony, who used them through 1999. That's when we bought them.

Since then, our tuben have appeared with the Marin Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, San Jose Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz Symphony, and many others. Renter either arranges local pickup or pays two-way shipping costs; we provide shipping boxes and include tube stands, valve oil, pencil clips, and so on.

Coaching

Wagnertuben are traditionally played by horn players, but even horn players need to spend some time with them to master the instruments and be able to play them at the same high professional level they expect of themselves on horn. Therefore, when we rent out our Wagnertuben, we try to arrange a monthlong rental, so that your players have time to work with them, practice Kopprasch etudes, get used to the transpositions, and otherwise master them.

Experienced performers

We can also supply experienced professional players along with the tube rental as needed. For local rentals with your own players, we offer coaching sessions with your hornists. For a moderate hourly rate (plus applicable travel expenses), we will introduce the fundamentals, field questions, help players get comfortable holding and tuning the instruments, and generally get your players up to speed fast. There are many tricky aspects to playing Wagnertube well, and having played just about all the Wagnertube repertoire ourselves, we know what you're up against and can get you going fast.

Mouthpieces

We recommend using one of your usual horn mouthpieces, but be sure to try all of your favorite mouthpieces; you might find that your second-favorite mouthpiece for horn is actually the better one for Wagnertube. What I like best is a Lawson F680 with a B23G-730 rim, but that's an unusually large mouthpiece. Many players might prefer a Lawson F660 or F670 with a 695-sized or 705-sized rim in the contour of their choice.

Rates

Our basic rate is $1000 for all four Wagnertuben for one month, plus insured shipping costs. Local pickup and/or delivery is also an option. We do not recommend a shorter rental period, because we want our tuben to sound their very best, and like any good instruments, they reward study. We believe that top-notch performance requires some practice and acclimation time.

What we usually recommend is that players temporarily switch to spending all their usual practice room time on the tube instead of the horn. Do your usual warm-ups, etudes, solos, and anything else you can think of on tube instead of horn! Your horn playing will benefit from this, too, and within a week or two, you'll be almost as comfortable on tube as on the horn you've played for years.

Contact

If you have any questions or would like to set up a rental, please email Alicia Telford or phone +1.510.845.6660.

Alexander model 310 full triple French horn for sale, $9999 USD

I (Erin) am selling an Alexander model 310 full triple french horn. Serial #17622, yellow brass with lacquer in excellent condition. I'm asking $9,999 or best offer. Currently the horn is listed on eBay, but if the horn is not sold by the time this listing expires on 5 November 2010, I will not renew the listing, so please contact me directly.

The horn is in excellent condition, with small dings and scratches only; no major dents. Some rose-colored spots where the lacquer has chipped, mostly on the bell branch. I would recommend removing the lacquer soon to address that, but it is by no means a serious condition right now. After removing the lacquer you'd only need a few minutes with Brasso to rub out the rose-spots; there is no pitting.


The horn was recently inspected and adjusted at Alexander shop in Germany and deemed to be excellent condition, and in no need of a major overhaul or even cleaning. While I was waiting at the shop, I spent several hours trying horns, and only two horns in the shop that day were even comparable to my horn. Alexanders do vary a little bit in quality, and mine is exceptional.

The horn includes extra hardware to convert thumb rotors to different sequence of keys (all sequences possible). Currently it stands in F and switches to Bb with the easy thumb and f alto with the other thumb lever, so it feels and operates like a regular double horn until you throw the rear thumb lever and switch to high f for descant fingers. Includes all the parts and instructions needed for changing the sequence of keys on the thumb rotors, e.g. to Bb-f-F if you do mostly high playing.



Includes an adjustable Alex finger hook and an adjustable Alexander "flipper," "crutch," "duck foot" or whatever you call that thingamajigger. It has 6 water keys, a screwbell, both Leather Specialties and ultrasuede grips, and lacquer that is in great condition except on the bell branch. (All these features cost extra on top of a base model that retails at $14000, so a new replacement cost would be around $16,000).

Both the pinky hook and the crutch are the Alexander adjustable kind, so with just a screwdriver you can move them around to fit any size hand and gripping style. Getting your left hand comfortable can be tricky with a triple horn that has two thumb valves, so this is more important than you might think! When your left hand is comfortable, your fingering is faster and the horn doesn't feel as heavy.

Comes with a used Marcus Bonna Standard case with backpack straps (pictured). This case fits in just about any airline's overhead bin or under the seat, has a hard shell to protect against bumps, and has both an internal accessory area and a small external pocket for oils, etc.

Note: the horn is pictured here with an extra bell that is NOT included in the sale. The original Alexander bell (the one that is on the horn in the picture) IS included, of course.

This is an outstanding horn in perfect playing condition. I have used it professionally and on recordings.

Shipping and insurance

I will ship domestically by whatever means the buyer prefers, at cost plus $10. If you prefer to save money by shipping without full replacement insurance, you will have to be responsible for any damage or loss in transit, but I do promise to pack the bejesus out of it so that damage is unlikely.

I'm willing to ship internationally, at full insured shipping cost plus $10, by whatever method the buyer prefers. Please note that international delivery usually involves customs fees on the receiving end. For international purchase, we will need to discuss shipping details upon purchase, and I will need to receive payment for the shipping & any applicable customs/duty costs in advance by PayPal. I am willing to send it according to the method the buyer prefers.

Trial period

If I know you or if we have a friend/colleague in common who will vouch for you, I will ship it out for a ten-day approval period. Shipping and insurance both ways, plus $10, will be at your cost.

More pictures

There is a whole bunch of pictures here.