Buescher BBb-Worth a valve job?

[tubaben]

I've been working on this old 1915 or so Buescher BBb for a customer. The good news is that the horn came out great as far as both cosmetics and mechanics. The bad news is that it plays very stuffy. I isolated the tubing, and there aren't any leaks in there. The valves, though, are getting terrible compression. I hooked it up to our compression tester and got almost nothing.

I need to determine whether or not to advise the owner of this instrument to have me send it in to Anderson for a valve re-fit. Does anyone else have any experience with these tubas?

EDIT: Pictures available here: http://www.merlingrady.com/projects/buescher.html" target="_blank

Also, Please ignore the valve buttons. They are temporary.

Thanks,

Ben Creswell
Grady Instrument Service

[roweenie]

Yes, definitely. What difference does the appearance make, if it plays like crap?

Who will do the lapping in of the valves, you or Anderson?

Will Anderson do the work with the valve nest still on the horn? All of these factors affect the total cost.....

[toobagrowl]

A good, vintage American 4v BBb tuba? Yes

[roweenie]

Yes indeed, all you have said is true. I assumed that all those steps were already part of the rebuild, but I was also under the impression that they would give the customer the option of doing the final lapping-in themselves, thereby saving them some money.....I wouldn't know for sure, (and I can certainly be mistaken about this), as all of the sets I've sent them were complete rebuilds, from start to finish.

In any event, I'm fairly certain they can't accept a complete tuba valve rebuild while they (the casings) are still attached to the horn, which would drive up the final cost to the customer considerably, I would think.

[tubaben]

Yes, definitely. What difference does the appearance make, if it plays like crap?

Who will do the lapping in of the valves, you or Anderson?

Will Anderson do the work with the valve nest still on the horn? All of these factors affect the total cost.....

My understanding is that this instrument is a family heirloom, so the appearance might actually be more important than how it plays. I don't know for sure what the owner has planned for it. I don't want to get into a situation where I advise them to get a valve job, and it doesn't improve the horn enough to justify it.

I will definitely have to pull the "guts" out and send them in. It shouldn't be that difficult, though.

I have emailed the owner and I'll let them decide.

Thanks for all the input!

Ben Creswell
Grady Instrument Service

[bort]

It's not my money... so SURE! Why not!?

[bigboymusic]

So, for those that have done this, if the valve section has to be taken out and sent in for a proper fitting, what kind of change are we talking here? 1K? 2K?

[TheGoyWonder]

Saw the pics before links removed (always use flavor of the month hosting site, currently imgur)

Does it have 2 main tuning slides?? It looked like it has the long goofy leadpipe tuning slide, and a tuning slide in the regular position. If so, the hard part has been done for the CC conversion, maybe it just needs a short leadpipe to blow a C.

[The Big Ben]

I paid $1K for this job with an Olds 099-4 from a source in Seattle. All of the work, sans plating, was done in house. I believe the plating was also done in Seattle but I am not 100% sure about that (It was about two years ago).

[Rick Denney]

1K? 2K?

Yes.

Rick "somewhere in that range" Denney

[roweenie]

In my (extremely limited amateur) experience, whenever I mess with an old tuba, the first thing I do is address the valve set. There's no logical reason to make a horn with crappy valves all pretty, just to then rip off the valve nest and send it away.

Also, any slide alignments/modifications that I might do, get done before the valve job (whenever possible), because as Bloke said, the tolerances will be so close, that any slide work will be considerably less forgiving, regarding piston movement, afterward.

Anderson's turn-around time averages 4-6 weeks, so while it's out being rectified, that's the time to do cosmetics, etc....

- wrap as if something precious

(because it is)

....and hope and pray it won't be damaged (or far worse, lost) in transit......

Does it have 2 main tuning slides?? It looked like it has the long goofy leadpipe tuning slide, and a tuning slide in the regular position. If so, the hard part has been done for the CC conversion, maybe it just needs a short leadpipe to blow a C.

I guess cutting all the valve circuits to CC tuba length must be the "easy" part....

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Lovely looking horn, a valve job is worth while. If you decide to do so, you will indeed need to carefully remove the casing assembly but should not really need to unsolder the slide tubes from the casings. Be sure to put thought into the points of unsoldering, if done with care and in a proper manor, the reinstall will be simpler and with a minimal impact on the finish. Just my 2¢. Neat horn.

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
http://www.oberloh.com" target="_blank

[roweenie]

Y'know, this may sound crazy, but I'm wondering if that 4th valve is original to the horn....that 4th valve wrap is unlike any other I've ever seen on a vintage instrument, and, although the picture is kind of blurry, it appears as though the 4th valve top cap is different from the others.

I don't think I've ever seen a horn with a main tuning slide before the mouthpiece sport a second one after the valve set...very interesting.... (then again, Buescher had a lot of unusual designs built into their horns)....

Just musing...

[roweenie]

Well, the valve circuits seem to be way ahead of its time. There aren't many vintage (factory original) horns that have a moveable 4th valve crook that is accessible from the top. It seems as though they anticipated a future generation of "slide-pullers"....

[roweenie]

Frickin' incredible....what a beauty (the horn, that is...)