Eb circular mellophone bell forward mod...

[Walter Webb]

I am thinking about modifying my traditional circular Eb King Mellophone to be bell forward. It's from the late 20s or 30s, and is in excellent condition.

My idea seems simple and easy to execute: Cut the bell tube somewhere about 2 - 4 inches past the 3rd valve, whatever it takes, and simply rotate it about 180 degrees so the bell points forward, or at least mostly forward and slightly upward. A little experimentation with a cardboard mockup should reveal the place to cut. Ferrule fittings are available in many sizes, so the exact cut could match one of them. The bracing arms might have to be long and somewhat awkward-looking... Have you ever considered this? What do you think? Can you recommend this or any other ideas, or do you know of anyone who has tried it?

[tbn.al]

Or maybe this one.

king_1121sp.jpg

[tbn.al]

No, it's not like the "Billy May" mellophones, he already has one of those. I was wondering if he was going to try to make his into one of these front firing mello cannon thingies?I hope he doesn't change it. those sircle thingies really sounded good on the Billy May recordings. Here is a sample.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EMcjJnw4E0" target="_blank