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This instrument has been sold.
___________________________
1964 Holton 345 CC
$10,000
Jackson, MS
This is an outstanding musical instrument in excellent physical and mechanical condition. The finish is unlacquered brass. The inside of the bell is silver-plated.
No case.
An old, leather Cronkhite bag can be provided at no additional cost.
There is no option to ship.
You must pay in full at the time of purchase. Cash is king.
A large rehearsal space can be made available for you to test the instrument at the MSO offices.
Last edited by the elephant on Tue Dec 02, 2025 12:24 pm, edited 3 times in total.
I'll be meeting with the potential buyer on Tuesday. If he passes, I will take it off hold by Wednesday morning — but I think he will buy it.
I am actually upset to be selling this horn. I have used it to pay for my idiotic life for 17 years, and it will be difficult for me to hand it over to someone else.
I love this tuba.
This will be difficult for me.
Stupid, I know…
These users thanked the author the elephant for the post (total 3):
Mary Ann (Sat Nov 29, 2025 6:37 pm) • prodigal (Sat Nov 29, 2025 8:24 pm) • gocsick (Sat Nov 29, 2025 8:43 pm)
@the elephant I can only imagine. You’ve put many, many, many hours into building that Holton.
I felt the same several years ago sending off a York 33 that I’d flipped around with King parts (not nearly as much time and effort as you’ve put into yours though). The new owner is still happy with it so that makes me happy, but…
These users thanked the author York-aholic for the post (total 2):
When I sold my Alex 163, which was a very special instrument that I put a lot of time and money into getting dialed in (not nearly as much as you!) and was feeling some seller's remorse, my wife said something like, "You can be happy that something exists even though it isn't yours."
I am happy this Holton exists!
These users thanked the author arpthark for the post:
Please don't misinterpret this as being unsympathetic. I'm completely sympathetic. This is why I've always tried to - out loud - tell myself that these things are not living things and are pieces of equipment. I have all the same tendencies and strong feelings, but I know that someday every single one of these instruments is going to be sold and the way that I try to protect myself emotionally is to continue to tell myself that each one of them is only a piece of machinery, whether I put it together or someone else.
I also have always had to tell myself that if I kept two or three instruments that do similar things and are similarly classified, that my attention will be split between more instruments, which means that my expertise at playing any one of them - just as they need to be played - will be diffused.
I'm right there with you...
Someone's getting something great, and it will be appreciated and it will be played more than you would play it yourself, as it will be their one and only.
These users thanked the author bloke for the post (total 3):
it was hard to sell my piggy. I wish I still had it, but since getting away from CC tuba, if I didn't sell it then, I'd probably sell it now
I sold my Norwegian star even though it was a great tuba. I didn't need that great an Eb, and a local buyer snatched it up. I found a use for that money pretty quickly
I might sell the cerveny 601 that i went all the way to Phoenix to get. Ever since I bought the eastman, I dont have use for TWO 20" bell Bb tubas
Horns come horns go. I bet the holton is amazing, but believe me, this is worst part, when you are in the no mans land of still owning the horn, but getting close to selling it.
once it's out of your hands, you'll feel better
I have been polishing it up all day, working on cleaning up a few solder joints where I moved some things after it was assembled. I have well over a thousand hours working on this horn, modifying it, correcting stuff, and untold hours researching acoustics and the math to figure out what needed to be altered. It is like a child to me. We have played many concerts together over the last seventeen years, and I swore up and down that I would never part with this tuba… but the YamaYork is better for my needs now as I age.
This breaks my heart.
These users thanked the author the elephant for the post (total 4):
Pauvog1 (Sun Nov 30, 2025 6:15 pm) • York-aholic (Sun Nov 30, 2025 10:16 pm) • prodigal (Mon Dec 01, 2025 9:22 pm) • J-B (Tue Dec 02, 2025 11:31 pm)
