Holton

[einahpets]

Have any of you guys/ girls played a holton 345 CC tuba? Just wondering. Alos why did Holton stop making tubas?

[sloan]

Have any of you guys/ girls played a holton 345 CC tuba? Just wondering. Alos why did Holton stop making tubas?

Why did Hudson stop making automobiles?

[Roger Fjeldet]

If you search the threads you`ll find lots of info on the Holton 345`s - both Cc and Bb.
Roger

[iiipopes]

Indeed. The search engine is your friend. I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but helpful. Many topics have been discussed on this forum, and if you're good with a search engine, it will save a lot of repeated bandwidth.

For example, right now on the front page of the "For Sale" section of the forum is this thread, without even having to search:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=35068

[bloke]

All of this is my view of the past situation...a bunch of GUESSES...

When Vito Pascucci took over Holton and G. Leblanc Corp. was formed (USA) he put much more of an emphasis on bottom line and marketing...moreover, re-branding quite a few (bargain-priced at that time) Yamaha-made instruments as "Holton"/"Vito"...putting instruments in bright-colored cases...offering multi-colored plastic clarinets...etc.

As...

- the only tuba-like instrument that he manufactured was the Holton sousaphone, possibly also considered a "necessary nuisance"...??
- there were fewer and fewer people who knew how to build those huge bows and spin those big bells
- stopping to build one of these instruments pulled many man-hours off of much more profitable production

the tooling was moth-balled.

Over the years, quite a few people asked him if they could buy the tooling, and he consistently refused. (What would he have to gain by doing that...?? "Holton couldn't build these tubas anymore, but WE can"......Some competing major manufacturer ends up with the tooling, and uses the 6/4 model as an "advertiser" to sell their more profitable 3/4 and 4/4 tubas....etc.)

I don't believe Vito or his son, Leon, had much faith at all in the marketability of a re-issued 345 specialty tuba, as (just a few years before the Wisconsin factories were shuttered) they marketed and briefly manufactured a "completely designed by computer" "Phillips model" (smallish) BBb/CC tuba. I do understand their lack of faith in marketability of the 345 around 1980 (a time of SEVERE economic recession - and very low national morale - in the U.S.) ; To make any money selling tubas in the U.S., many BBb tubas must be produced. During Vito's lifetime, baby boomer tuba players had not reached retirement age. The WWII generation, mostly, were those who were retired and (having lived through the Great Depression) were generally not-all-all comfortable (as BBb community band hobbyists) with buying themselves $10,000 [in early 1980's dollars, and particularly in early-1980's post-Carter recession times] "toys" (in stark contrast to current baby boomer and post-baby boomer retired and nearly-retired men's propensities and proclivities). Even when this instrument WAS in the Leblanc USA catalog (up until c. 1980), the price was nearly prohibitively expensive...nearly as high as the soon-to-come Hirsbrunner "York Model".

To summarize:

- It was very difficult for Leblanc USA to manufacture this instrument.
- The country was in the throws of a severe recession and severe inflation - with nearly 20% mortgage rates and everyone "hunkering down".
- The "6/4" craze had NOT YET - by any means - BEGUN. THE lard-ass-magnet tubas of that day were the European 4/4 rotaries.