Eb tubas in brass bands

[ken k]

hello all, i play an old B&H Imperial Eb tuba in a British style brass band here in PA. (http://www.lancasterbbb.org" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank) My horn is a late 70's - early 80's vintage B&H that has the 19" bell. It originally had the smaller mouthpiece receiver, however I replaced the lead pipe with a larger one from a Besson 981 which also has the regular American-sized receiver.

I have seen a very nice similar vintage horn for sale on the Baltimore Brass website, but this horn has the smaller 15" bell and smaller lead pipe/receiver. i believe I played this horn at the army conference and it played great. http://www.baltimorebrass.net/index.php?cat=5" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

My question is mainly for any Brits over there who are active in brass bands (but Americans are welcome to chime in as well). Are the smaller belled Eb tubas still used much in brass bands or are the larger belled horns more prevalent? I know the newer Besson 983 has a smaller bell, but I think it is bigger than 15". It would seem to me a smaller belled Eb tuba would do well in a brass band since the Eb part are often higher and sometimes soloistic in nature.
I am tempted to try this horn out some more and perhaps consider buying it.
Any thoughts about Eb tone quality in the brass band would be greatly appreciated.
ken k

[ken k]

P.S.

i also use the B&H Eb tuba in a brass quintet, and I think it works incredibly well in that setting. Anyone use one of the smaller belled horns in a quintet?

kk

[imperialbari]

I have a Besson 981, which has the same bore profile as your hybrid-across-the-1982-introduction-of-the-Sovereign-tubas.

Unless a brass band has very full sounding players from euph and up, the 981 in my ears is on the big side for its brass band functions.

The old 15" Brit Eb bass is good as long as it is not overblown. But that possibly could be partially remedied with a leadpipe from a 981.

Klaus

[Yane]

I like my B&H Eb for quintet work. I sometimes switch mouthpieces to get a particular sound or facilitate the high or low range.

[Ulli]

I play in brass bands a B&H Imperial Eb, 15'', 4v compensator, but mostly a B&H Imperial BBb, 17'' 3v compensator. They booth are silverplated and have, naturally, the small receiver!
I think, that's the original and primary old brass band tuba sound and sometimes, my tuba team- mates attests that to me.

[iiipopes]

Since the change up from the 15 inch bell to the 19 inch bell, Besson has also made a model with a 17 inch bell that I can't remember the model number.

[imperialbari]

980 top action. 983 front action.

[Bob Kolada]

I played a small Conn Eb in brass band and it worked great.

The 15" bell has the same body as the 19"'s, right? Something smaller might be a better fit to your big Eb Ken. I'd like to try this thing as it looks to have a smaller body- http://www.wessex-tubas.com/product/bombino/

[Donn]

I'm too lazy to dig up photos. Are you all talking about the size of the bell, or just the bell flare? Radically different parameters in terms of tonal results, I believe.

[Wyvern]

My question is mainly for any Brits over there who are active in brass bands (but Americans are welcome to chime in as well). Are the smaller belled Eb tubas still used much in brass bands or are the larger belled horns more prevalent?

There are very few 15" bell Eb tubas played in British brass bands today. Most that are still around have been passed down to youth training bands. 19" bell definitely rules in the British brass band world today.

Personally I found the 15" bell of the past, too easily broke up into a bark if played hard and is probably not suitable in modern brass band of strong players. The 17" bell as on Besson 980, 983 and Wessex TE460 Solo is a nice all round size for band, quintet and orchestral playing.

[tubaknut]

It would seem to me a smaller belled Eb tuba would do well in a brass band since the Eb part are often higher and sometimes soloistic in nature.

I've used my B&H Regent 3-valver in my band a few times, but I don't find it that suitable. It would perhaps be different with the larger Imperial model, but I don't have any experience with the Imperials.

It really comes down to what kind of music your BB plays, and also which instruments you have in the rest of your section. If they all use 3+1 Besson's or equivalent, with a large bell, I'd go for that to get an as homogenous sound as possible. If you have a mix of tubas especially with rotary valve ones, I wouldn't think too much about the bell size as the difference would not amount to much with the wildly different horns.

I would also take into consideration on which seat you play. If you mostly play the lower part, the bigger size bell might blend better with the B-flats. The upper and solo parts I'd imagine work well with a smaller bell horn.

In the end, the most important thing is to choose the horn you feel most comfortable with, and that helps you bring to life your ideal sound.

There are very few 15" bell Eb tubas played in British brass bands today. Most that are still around have been passed down to youth training bands. 19" bell definitely rules in the British brass band world today.

That's the case in Norway as well. People tend to use either a modern 19'' Besson or equivalent, or some other front action horn. But the most conservative championship bands over here use newer 3+1 Besson or Yorks only. Usually with matching mouthpieces.

[Ulli]

There are very few 15" bell Eb tubas played in British brass bands today. Most that are still around have been passed down to youth training bands. 19" bell definitely rules in the British brass band world today.

That's the case in Norway as well. People tend to use either a modern 19'' Besson or equivalent, ...

In Germany, that is true as well.
I was the only, who still played in Brass Bands a BBb Boosey Imperial 3v comp. with the small 17'' bell from the year 1931- and they said, I have the best sound!

[lowpitchmoravian]

Eb, F, BBb, CC--------always seemed to me it depends WHO is on the North end of the mouthpiece.??????)(*^%$#$%^&*()_