We received this HUUUUUGE box with “Fragile” and “Heavy” stickers all over it. What’s in this box?

Well, we have been looking for this item for quite some time. And we finally find one.

Quinn has a tuba of his own, now affectionately known as Nicholas Cage (every tuba player must name their tuba). He’s currently borrowing a tuba from his tuba tutor, Mr. Freed, and he loves the tuba. It’s a German made tuba called a Miraphone 186 and is the perfect size for our tall guy with a deep, dark sound. But it’s only on lend while he is tutoring with Mr. Freed so we wanted Quinn to have a tuba of his own.

Quinn’s new tuba is on the left and Mr. Freed’s tuba on the right. Mr. Freed’s tuba is probably 40 years old and has alot of wear and tear on the outside but still sounds great.

Quinn was beyond excited with how easily the valves/keys moved and how little sound they make. The newer tubas are machine made where the older ones are hand made. The main giveaway is the curved levers that you can see on Mr. Freed’s tuba on the right.

Like I said, we have been looking for a used tuba for about a year, and specifically for a Miraphone 186. I joined a “Tuba Resale” Facebook group and had made a couple of offers that didn’t go through. Mr. Freed had also been looking for us and Sunday morning he sent me a link to one that was just posted. It looked perfect!

The guy selling it lived in Arlington TX and responded to me immediately. At 4 pm we Facetimed him and he showed us the tuba and even played a quick song. He had previously played in the US Air Force Band and had quite a few low brass instruments in his office.

Everything about it was perfect. We just needed to send money to a perfect stranger in TX and hope that we receive the tuba. Don and I said that if Richard is scamming us, he is going through alot of work to do so.

The tuba arrived on Thursday in perfect condition and Quinn thinks it’s the best tuba he has ever played!