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On his 1973 Indiana university masterclass Arnold Jacobs played with a Besson F-tuba too. Do you have any pictures of a Besson F tuba? I've never seen any...

In the book about John Fletcher he writes about the old Gronitz, so called double tubas. How do they look like ? Are they different than the "modern" Gronitz ? Pictures maybe?

thanks a lot

I played my Gronitz e flat every day and still can't work out why I sold it . Still miss it . Mistake!

I am trying to find a photo of I have of Philip Catalienet , I think It is on the 1986 edition of his solo piece for tuba / Piano called "Legend" the picture was taken in the 1950's of him with an F tuba , very similer to an british style Eb but smaller .will try and scan and post( if I can find it).
Never played a Besson F ,only F tuba I have tried was a rotory Miraphone in Germany in 1990 and was an amazing instrument ( was in Bochum Music School).

The little F that Arnold Jacobs played was a model from the 1960's or thereabouts. Very small (about a 14" bell) and a 3+1 compensator.

I think the Rugs-N-Relics website has a photo of one.

Chuck(G) wrote:The little F that Arnold Jacobs played was a model from the 1960's or thereabouts. Very small (about a 14" bell) and a 3+1 compensator.

I think the Rugs-N-Relics website has a photo of one.

http://www.rugs-n-relics.com/brass-phil ... -tuba.html

Interestingly, he also has a French Tuba in C (I assume a Cuesnon). I would be interested to hear him play it.

Chuck

Chuck(G) wrote:The little F that Arnold Jacobs played was a model from the 1960's or thereabouts. Very small (about a 14" bell) and a 3+1 compensator.

I think the Rugs-N-Relics website has a photo of one.

Chuck, didn't Richard Frazier have one of these?

Cameron Gates wrote:Chuck, didn't Richard Frazier have one of these?

He had the one used by Mr. Jacobs.

As I recall, he sold it to buy an Alex F (then had the Alex stolen). He said that given the small dimensions, it was almost unbearably loud to the person playing it--and intonation was "interesting".

He's still got the little Besson CC that belonged to Jacobs (I've got one exactly one serial number later). That one also was stolen, but turned up in a local music store about 4 years later.

I owned THE Besson F that Arnold used for the V.W. Concerto for some 10 or so years. I traded it to Rich Frazier for the Alexander F that Rich did most of his Chicago recording work on.

The Besson was a great little tuba, I traded a York "upright" 4 valve CC for it. Jake liked the CC, but sold it a couple of years later to Chuck Daellenbach, who used it on the Canadian Brass "Montiverdi" album before using the bell on another tuba (ballet moves are hard on an "upright" tuba).

The Besson was IDENTICAL to the "rugs-n-relics" photo. Rich told me that the tuba was stolen from his studio at the U. of Oregon within a year from when he got it from me. I traded for the Alex for ergonomic reasons, as well as it worked/sounded like my Rusk/York F, and I already own "too many" (8) F tubas.

(I know that the following constitutes "threatening" or "abusive" language, but I hope SitemeisterSean will let it get by....)

The Jacobs Besson F is still "at large" at this time, and it's "owner" is in grave physical/litigational danger should I be the one to locate him/her??. One of my "retirement" projects is to relocate this horn, and I've just "retired". If you're out there reading this, you bastard, I'll find you. SOMEtime. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, or? If you play it in public, I'll find you. Be afraid. VERY afraid......... . Or get the horn back to Frazier, N.Q.A.