Indiegogo Survey

[Kodyr0908]

Hello my name is Kody Rackley, i am a tuba player from Saint Charles, Missouri. i am currently attending Lindenwood University trying to obtain my degree in music education, and my minor in performance. some of you may be reading the title of this thread and wondering "What is Indiegogo?" Indiegogo is a place for people to ask for donations to receive items that they need but cannot afford on their own, Also when you make donation you receive a gift or other item just for donating. my professor and i are in the process of starting a campaign on indiegogo to start funding for my own tuba, being from a poor family, and also being in college this is my only real way to get the money i need in a short amount of time. so here is my question to you, if you were to donate what would you like to receive for your donation, now keep in mind that i can not do anything completely outrageous but i will do what i can. my goal is to raise $15,000 for my tuba. Any suggestions would be great and also feel free to email me any suggestions you may have. my Email is Kodyr30@gmail.com.
Thank you
Kody Rackley

[davewerden]

FORUM FOLKS: Please be careful with this. I don't know much about the site, but here is one of the blog posts that questions some of its policies:
http://indiegogoscam.blogspot.com/

Even if the site is built with the best of intentions, there are ways to scam. It is similar on eBay in some ways. I would always check carefully on seller history/reputation or other factors before buying from eBay, for example.

So I don't mean any offense to our newest member above. His IP address matches where he says he is from, which is always a good sign, and his message here is consistent with those he has posted on YouTube, etc.

Maybe I'm just out of the loop (wouldn't be the first time!). I'd invite other forum members to post what they have experienced or know about Indiegogo.

Please understand that I'm just trying to make sure the forum stays safe and friendly. I want to make sure we only get legitimate appeals, and I'm pretty ignorant about Indiegogo.

Thanks.

[ghmerrill]

This may be real. Consider, for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI9WbdtvjZ4. And https://www.facebook.com/kody.rackle...=browse_search. And some others.

I can't imagine why an undergraduate music education major would think that he "needs" a $15,000 tuba. And I can't imagine why a professor would be encouraging him to believe that this is what he "needs". But maybe that's just me. And I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from becoming a good musician if a $15,000 instrument is what that takes. I guess you could think of it as contributing to a scholarship for this individual.

I think I need a Norwegian Star in order to have a happy life in my golden years. And that's only $10,000. But I don't think that's going to happen .

[Kodyr0908]

it is real, im sorry, i was just trying to be as formal as i could be with this. my intentions are not to scam. i am just taking advice from my professors and checking on forums. i apologize i have no intention of scamming.. and i don't think i need it, my professors think i do. i am also a performance minor. they said i need a professional level tuba and they recommended miraphone CC Tuba... i am really sorry i caused any concern.
Kody Rackley

[Kodyr0908]

My Apologies

im sorry i didn't mean to cause any concern.. i was taking my professors advice and trying this. and i am not the one who thinks i need it, my professor thinks i need a better horn.. and they recommended a Miraphone CC tuba...i don't have the money. im just trying to do the best at what i do and they dont think the horn i use now will help me because the high range on it is unresponsive. so again i apologize for the concern..

[davewerden]

No need to apologize if you are sincere! But since this is your first post here I thought it was smart for all of us to approach with great caution. Your approach is not something I'm familiar with so I could not take it lightly. But I am not saying YOU are dishonest. I was really hoping some our established members might know more about this.

[Kodyr0908]

Thats fine i just wanted to clarify. and i understand it was my first post and the concern it came with it. but my intentions are sincere, i am just trying fundraise my way to a better horn.

[Davidus1]

Hi,

I wish you well with your studies. I would highly recommend that you look around. I'm by no means an expert but have played tuba since the mid 1970s. I can tell you that a $15000 tuba is in no way a necessity. There are fine used horns in CC or BBb for less than half that, that would do the job. Many orchestral tubists made their living playing on Mirafone CC tubas. There are a lot of used ones around and some very nice clones available that play nearly as well. You might give strong consideration to these. I am also from the St. Louis area (not far from St. Charles). If you get a chance you might try to get a few lessons with Michael Sanders of the St. Louis Symphony or Jeffrey Hoard (alternate for St. Louis Symphony). Perhaps you could ask them their opinion about the horn you are choosing. Jeffrey's web page is at: http://www.gatewaybrassquintet.com/Jeffrey%20Hoard.htm
I would certainly question that tall order of $15000. I wish you well in your studies and hope this helps rather than discourages you.

[Kodyr0908]

i happened to find a few used miraphones for 8000, and a used model that i was looking at for 9000.

[Kodyr0908]

would you happen to know if jupiter tubas are any good? the only jupiter instrument ive played on was a sousaphone. so i dont really know about concert tubas through them.

[ghmerrill]

It's not obvious exactly what stage you're at in your development, but it appears that you're still an undergraduate. So you might have in mind doing graduate study. Now imagine you manage to get that $15K horn and when you show up at your graduate program your new professor says "Yeah, that's a nice instrument, but I think I really prefer to see you using a XXXX" . All these guys have their own preferences, and they'll have their own ideas of what your preferences should be.

Then there's the old CC vs. BBb debate that continually rages (and apparently is swinging over to the BBb side in at least some circles nowadays). So current professor says "You have to have a CC tuba to be a successful graduate student or professional". New professor maybe doesn't think so. Or you decide that, as a graduate student or professional, you need both a CC and an F -- but you've blown all your money on a single expensive instrument.

If you haven't discovered Tubenet, discover it now and review all the relevant debates on it. Do your best to sort out the crap from the worthwhile advice.

There are indeed a lot of VERY GOOD used tubas out there that any competent player could use at the professional level. Take a look here: http://www.dillonmusic.com/c-1013-tubas.aspx. And here: http://thevillagetinker.com/horns_for_sale.htm. And here: http://forums.chisham.com/viewforum.php?f=4. And don't forget the possibilities of http://www.mackbrass.com/ and http://www.wessex-tubas.com/. Notice that if you just HAVE to have an expensive silver German CC tuba, Dillon currently has a Meinl Weston 5-valve WITH a flight case for less than $8,500. A long way from $15,000. And the Tubnet "For Sale" list has a bunch of excellent horns on it.

At various times in our lives we've all wanted the biggest and shiniest and best (and most expensive!!). Ain't always the right choice. Maybe it ain't often the right choice.

[tampaworth]

As they say on Tubenet

+1

[ghmerrill]

would you happen to know if jupiter tubas are any good? the only jupiter instrument ive played on was a sousaphone. so i dont really know about concert tubas through them.

Jupiter tubas have a dreadful reputation. You would do much better (both cost and quality) by buying Chinese, in my opinion. Some of the Chinese horns now are VERY good. Their fit and finish is not up to the expensive German, Czech, and Japanese horns; and their long-term durability is an open question.

Note that Tom McGrady is offering an unconditional full refund (including shipping) on the new 5-valve CC horn he is selling (which is a clone of the PT-6, allegedly with some improvements): http://www.mackbrass.com/MACK-TU900_5_4_CC_Tuba.php. Check out his demos of it on Youtube.

[tampaworth]

Go ahead and flame me but I am someone who put himself through college and professional school working nights and used some benefits from prior military service... What ever happened to working for stuff the old fashioned way?

[Davidus1]

Go ahead and flame me but I am someone who put himself through college and professional school working nights and used some benefits from prior military service... What ever happened to working for stuff the old fashioned way?

No flaming here. Completely agree. I received a Bachelor's Degree at 37 after putting myself through college and can relate to what you are saying.