So I have my "new" helicon that I traded my ballad horn for- crushed lead pipe replaced- Now I'm ready to play it.
The problem is that it wants to play flat- even with no bits and all slides completely in I have to force it up a little bit to be in tune.
Should I cut the crook down a bit? If so, any recommendations on how far?
Anything else I can try?
It is a Boston Eb from about 1900.
Helicon help needed
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Chuck(G)
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Re: Helicon help needed
The old "low pitch" horns were usually built to play at A435, so some minor surgery is probably necessary. If you've got a tuner that lets you set the calibration pitch, try it at A435 to see if I'm right on this.davet wrote: It is a Boston Eb from about 1900.
My calculations say that you have to shorten the airpath by about 5.1 cm to get it to play at A440. That means that you'll want to take about an inch from each leg of the main tuning slide.
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Chuck(G)
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Which reminds me that I've seen the occasional poor fool pay lotsa bucks for an old Haynes or Louis Lot antique flute advertised on eBay, struggle like heck to get it to play even close to pitch (in the process usually making the mistake of pushing the cork in), finally selling the flute right back on eBay to another poor fool...bloke wrote: Just wait long enough for some 'master teacher' to post in this thread and suggest that you're not properly "spinning the air".
We're lucky we can get by with hacking a bit off here and there. I've seen a Lot flute reworked to play at A442, and it astounded me that anyone would take a chance on major surgery of that magnitude, not to mention the cost thereof..
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Chuck(G)
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Oh yeah, and the extra money for "French pointed key arms" (looks nice, but I don't think it does a thing for the sound), maybe a jewel in the lip plate (and I don't mean a garnet).bloke wrote: bloke "who works fairly regularly with an aging 'flute queen' who has one of those jillion-dollah flutes...she plays quite sharp, and sounds so-so"
I've long since concluded that a tuba is a piece of plumbing and a flute is a piece of jewelry. Both are equally capable of being played out of tune.
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davet
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With one bit (it came without bits) it is dead on 435.....
It is a Boston Musical Instrument Co. Brand, but my local (Elkhart) tech says the braces are definitely Conn and the Conn leadpipe was a perfect fit, so it may have been made here in Elkhart and had the Boston name put on it.
Don't know why I didn't think of this before my original post- by putting in my (shorter) York sousa gooseneck and two bits I can get it to 440, but still have no room for adjustment. If I go to one bit then the mouthpiece is awkwardly positioned.
I guess I'll just have to decide where I want to compromise...
Thanks for the input (except for the flute stuff!)
If anybody has any further ideas, I'm still listening...errrr reading.
It is a Boston Musical Instrument Co. Brand, but my local (Elkhart) tech says the braces are definitely Conn and the Conn leadpipe was a perfect fit, so it may have been made here in Elkhart and had the Boston name put on it.
Don't know why I didn't think of this before my original post- by putting in my (shorter) York sousa gooseneck and two bits I can get it to 440, but still have no room for adjustment. If I go to one bit then the mouthpiece is awkwardly positioned.
I guess I'll just have to decide where I want to compromise...
Thanks for the input (except for the flute stuff!)
If anybody has any further ideas, I'm still listening...errrr reading.