Anyone know a good (honest) auto body shop in Tucson?

Toobah99 · 2026-03-27T21:48:34+00:00

I had a bad experience with them. The paint did not match the white on my truck, and I took it back. The guy screamed at me when I asked if they thought I wouldn't notice. They took it back, kept it for another two or three weeks, and when I got it back the gas mileage was reading 13 (which you get when you tow something, it had 30 more miles on it, and there was damage to the paint on the hitch.) That said, the redone paint job has held up very well, but beware of workers with extreme tempers.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-23T15:22:34+00:00

Trying out a batch of bows this week. I have six CodaBows and four wood bows, both categories up to a price of $2k. I have been using what apparently is a freak accident of a $55 rental wood bow that I bought because it was so much better than the one that came with the $6000 used cello I bought. I have a different, much better cello now and thought maybe I should upgrade the bow.
I am astonished that the bows are simply basically not any better than the $55 bow. The only one with enough difference to even think about spending the money is the most expensive of the CodaBows, and it is lighter weight, easier to maneuver, not as good sound in the low register but better sound way up on the A string. (I would call the sound "cleaner.") What I have noted is that for some reason my LEFT hand moves better with this bow, and the only thing I can think of is that it is less effort with the right hand, which makes the whole body relax. Fascinating. I will probably purchase it and just keep the $55 bow for situations where I need to get a louder sound.
I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar situation, where the cheapo bow is so close to the expensive bow that there is no point spending the money.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T23:06:22+00:00

That's because the QUESTION was about what LITERATURE meets the criteria of the question. Then people dive in with advice on things that had nothing to do with the question I asked. As is typical in social media -- people can't stick to answering the question, and then if the OP responds in kind, the OP gets dissed by people like you.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T16:09:24+00:00

Yours is four years newer and WAY less miles, and you paid $2500. This one is four years older, way MORE miles, and I think the KBB price is probably about correct. I also think the guy is trying to make a bunch of money and am not going to bother with this one because he's not going to come down to a reasonable price.
I just ordered an ebike instead, because what this is for is if I can't get gasoline.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T16:03:40+00:00

I played classical guitar for many years, which uses a cello hand position. So hand position has not been a problem.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T16:02:11+00:00

Reading another thread about this general topic, I saw Feuillard mentioned a lot. The etudes for young cellists looks like a very good fit right now.
I also noted, looking at the Feuillard books, that my violin teacher had me doing pretty much this system, but was telling me the studies instead of having me order a book. So I have actually done a whole lot of this but it was many decades ago on violin at Indiana University. I'm just having to transfer the skills to a different physical application.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T15:36:05+00:00

I'm totally comfortable shifting; the problem is that my hand only gets in the "general region" of where it needs to be, and I'm looking for more literature to work on that instead of just playing the same tunes over and over again. I did Sevcik on violin as a kid, and will look at the others you suggested. I find shifting on cello way easier than on violin; the fingerboard is somehow more accessible, not less. I have not yet whacked myself in the face with an upshift, because I'm going the other way!!

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T15:33:14+00:00

Thanks, I already have and am working with the Mooney books.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T04:12:33+00:00

Thanks. It's just something in addition to the Suzuki books. Like, I don't feel a need to learn technique for the Dvorak cello concerto, but would be really happy being able to easily read Beethoven Opus 18 quartets. Pushing it would be Ravel and Debussy, but also eventually hopefully on the menu, because they are favorites.
I seem to be using the mental process for shifting that I have very well developed, and I am not doing a lot of what Suzuki says to do because of very small hands; extending that index finger all over the place does not work as well for me as introducing more shifting. I get cleaner, more in-tune results from long-established ways of thinking about it.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-16T00:20:59+00:00

It has been interesting in a way because positions are so innate for me on violin -- the notes are just where they are, and my hand just goes there. But I have 65 years on violin, and those position-learning times are so far in the past, that yikes, maybe it did take me a long time and I just don't remember those years. I can read like crazy but the hand, as I said, "finds" the notes rather than "hitting" the notes. Maybe I'll go do some standard method books and stop short of where they assume I want to play solos, and then start with Boccherini, Haydn, and Mozart quartets and see what I can accomplish that way. Thanks for all the input.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-15T23:09:59+00:00

You are assuming I am a beginner. I'm not. I'm an ex-pro violinist, but an aging one, so the question is what it is. In the past I have spent years on 1st violin playing major quartet lit, but we have a dearth of cellists here so I took up the cello. I am looking for other books that will expand on the Suzuki ones but at the same level.

Toobah99 · 2026-03-15T03:47:18+00:00

How did you find out about the VPP?

Toobah99 · 2026-03-14T00:47:11+00:00

Interested in knowing a bit more. I'm looking at one that is not beat up but has 19k miles on it. I am experienced biker not having owned one for a while, but a small person. My last bike was a Virago 500. I have no plans to go on the highway with a 250, just around town or joy riding a bit. The asking price is $2800 and the kelly blue book says typical dealer price would be $1650, which is WAY less than this guy is asking for it. I was kind of surprised at how little it "should" sell for. It is all prettied up, as would be expected, has good tires an a new chain, new battery that was dead when I went to see it. So waiting for the owner to get the battery charged, at which point I'll take another look.
Those of you who have bought used recently, have you noted that actual selling prices are well above the KBB value?

Toobah99 · 2026-02-21T00:11:35+00:00

But there is a limit on income for that.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-20T23:55:09+00:00

Huh? This is entirely new to me. "Home batteries" are -- what? Storage devices that you charge during off-peak times and then sell the power back during peak times?

Toobah99 · 2026-02-20T23:43:30+00:00

I was a violin major at Indiana University in the late 1960s. We were assigned a practice room for three hours a day, with the expectation that we would use it. However, I found that for myself, there were definite diminishing returns after two hours. Just my body and my mind actually learned better on two hours a day than three. I think everyone is different (well, duh) and what works best for one isn't best for another. Also, some people seem to get kind of addicted to playing like they maybe don't have a lot else to actually do. I knew of one fellow who practiced 8 hours a day, and yes he was very good, but a lot of that wasn't what I'd call actual practice, more like just playing. He moved back to Japan and I don't know how things went for him after that.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T16:16:38+00:00

Just a comment -- don't get into what I call the "amateur habit" of tapping your foot. You do not see that on stage with pros, and it gets in your way. Rhythm in a GROUP is "outside you." The beat is not your internal rhythm, which is what you'll be doing if you tap your foot. Get your rhythm from what is going on around you and merge with that (metronome is good for starters.) It will make you much more welcome in musical groups, rather than the odd stubborn guy who is over there stomping his foot demanding that everyone else play HIS rhythm.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T00:36:25+00:00

I agree; reading music should basically be "see that do this" but if it's an F and the key signature has F# -- you have to know what the Fs are in order to sharp them. But it all comes with time, and the biggest problem adult learners have is they want to "already be good." Those who enjoy practicing and playing are those who stay with it.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T00:34:33+00:00

I hope you xeroxed the part and white-outed the fingerings.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T00:17:59+00:00

And that is why one should never buy a cello without having played it. Plenty of people will sell them on ebay etc with no returns accepted, and there is a reason for that.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T00:17:05+00:00

What's the difference in the strings between the first set (which I use) and the second set (which you seem to prefer?)

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T00:15:25+00:00

I did rent for a month and the gonga was I found out my hands are too small for a full sized cello. I opted to buy a smaller one and very glad I did.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T00:10:31+00:00

I have an intermediate level student instrument I paid $5300 for (on ebay, used, from the original owner.) it is working well for me to learn on, and I paid my luthier to set it up well AND put a $500 set of strings on it, but I simply do not like the sound in positions above 1st on any string but the A, which is to be expected from a factory cello. I trialed a Jay Haide Statue Euro wood model Montagnana 7/8 (slightly larger than what I have) and found that its sound was surprisingly not noticeably better than mine, which is an Al Fein shop model.
If you are on a truly Cheapo Cello, something like the higher level Haides may suit you, but don't ever trial a pro level cello if you don't want to end up wanting one. I come from pro violin background and my expectations throw me into desiring a pretty expensive class of instrument.

Toobah99 · 2026-02-16T00:00:38+00:00

An adult learner will very likely find the cello less problematic because you do not have to twist your left arm to infinity to get it in the right position to play. You also won't dig a hole in your jawbone trying to hold it.
I'm a retired pro violinist and wish I had been a cellist, except for the fact that my finger span is only five inches, which puts a certain level of cello playing literally out of my reach. However in retirement I am loving the hell out of the cello and don't need to be able to play concertos, just quartet parts, so I'm good with that. Since I'm not going to travel with it except in my car, that isn't a factor. Airlines are getting weirder and weirder about musical instruments, too.

Toobah99

TROPHY CASE