Here is another Ebay special. This one came from Germany. It's a Meinel & Herold. It appears to be an older instrument. I would guess 1960s or 1970s. I can not find any information on the company itself, but I have been told it may well be a VMI stencil. The Klingenthal stamp on the bell would indicate that or possibly a stencil Miraphone. The price was right but the hassle of wiring money, shipping and exchange rate kind of took the fun out of the transaction. The sellers of the horn were very nice, helpful and informative so that helped me feel a lot better about the transaction. It arrived in poor condition. The bell was severely damaged and warped. The second valve slide tubing was separated from the rotor. It leaks a bit. I forced it in as far as I could and was able to play a few open notes using the worn mouthpiece that is stuck in the leadpipe. The second valve does not move and the rest of them are sluggish. They will not return. It is covered in dents and the metal is a bit on the thin side. I plan to have the major dents removed. I am still looking for someone to do the work.

Update on the Meinel Herold!

I took the tuba to someone who I thought was an old friend who did band instrument repair for years. The tuba stayed at his shop for nearly 3 months. Always with the "I haven't gotten a chance to work on it" and my all time favorite, "I PROMISE I will get your horn done next week." What is that? A stall tactic because they REALLY don't want to work on your instrument. I realize things "happen" but that was plain wrong. Not to be completely beaten, I will be doing the repairs I can myself. I have grown TIRED of the lies and at best, mediocre work by repair people around here. I will give updates on how the "layman" goes about doing major repairs on a tuba without wrecking it! Stay tuned fr a new web page devoted to the repair of instruments! I may be put off and lied to, but I won't be broken! Stay tuned!