TubeNet

My 1870 Besson 3+1 non-comp Eb tuba has been mentioned a few times over the last months. The latest sample:

viewtopic.php?t=11956

Joe S offered a DW 4(non-L) at a fair price. I took the chance, as the stem would fit, and the cup would be more relevant, than that of my Yeo bassbone mpc.

I could immediately at the arrival see, that the cup shape was really good. I mounted the springs, which Joe had sent as replacements for the probably original and very sloppy ones.

Great sound for such a small 0.634 tuba despite my not being in the greatest playing shape.

All notes, except for the E naturals, spoke well down to the 2nd pedal. The midrange will take a bit of practice to get fully in tune. The 8th partial was slightly flat. But when I start practising for real, and when I start modifying the backbore, those problems will soon be solved.

I don’t think the little one will knock-out the 981 as my Eb favourite, but it isn’t bad to have an instrument sitting in the center of a triangle formed by a tubaish euph, a couple of bassboness, and a CC-ish Eb.

The old Besson sounds like a small British tuba despite its very long portion of cylindrical tubing from the 4th valve in the leadpipe through the main tuning slide and then through the 1-2-3 slides sitting after the main tuning slide. Nothing German here (I’m not the greatest fan of German tuba playing in bands). Not a fake bassbone, even if it has nothing CC-ish to it.

I haven’t metered the pitch, but the slides are very long, so if in HP it easily should be pullable into LP.

The next arrivals will be a Schmidt of Copenhagen F with 5 Berliner Pumpen (cannot be made playable) and a circa 1970 Besson New Standard 3+1 BBb comper. I have ordered a DW1 (non-L) for the latter, but I may at some point of time have a 992 or 994 leadpipe mounted on it.

I’m a great fan of DW’s flat and sharp edged rims. Only good old Denis has trapped himseæf into his numbering system. The Yeo bassbone signature mpc is a true DW design, and aside from the actual measurements almost similar to the DW4, Joe just sent me. The DW0 bassbone mpc is fine for high range pyrotechnics on euph and bassbone, but it doesn’t hold up for my general playing of these instruments.

The DW1 tuba mouthpiece is good, but also is too small for real work, so I have had to compromise and use a PT-50. I love the sound and dynamic potential, but I hate the rounded rim, which makes my embouchure leak. Not audibly, but the bell areas around the leadpipes are white from my chalky spit.

It will be no matter of economy to get myself the largest G&W or the largest LOUD, but which one has the flattest rim and the sharpest inner edge?

It is no secret, that I have been very ill, but recent tests tell, that no inner organs have suffered lasting damages. I hardly ever will be able to carry my basses around. But that is what roadies are for. So hopefully I will start playing in bands again.

After having my eyes done, the next plan is to transfer my collection to a foundation and open a tiny specialist museum for the true brass freaks. As long as I will be able to manage it, the instruments will stay in my town. After that time, they will go to a safe place in Copenhagen.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

There have been kind public and private responses to my posting. Thanks!

In a separate thread I have tried to illustrate instruments with Berliner Pumpen. A topic interesting me very much

viewtopic.php?t=12474

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

I respectfully disagree that the DW1 is too small for real work. It is the best fit to my 1971 Besson BBb 3-valve comp, which I use as my main horn in a variety of band settings. The university community band I am in also has several active and retired school band directors, and I get uniform positive compliments on the tuba and its tone. I agree that with three valves I am limited to the low E, but I am sure, that given a 4-valve instrument, it would be superlative all the way down to the pedals.

Bob1062 wrote:I'm always curious about alternative euphonium mouthpieces, so...

Have you tried the Wick in your euphonium? I assume by your posts that you usually use your Yeo in it.

No, And I am not tempted to do so. Some 15 years ago I tried aa medium tubaa mouthpiece on my bass bones. Marvellous sound, totally skewed pitches.

Bob1062 wrote:I also have a very small Eb tuba, a 3valve Lyon&Healy with a 14" bell and (supposedly) .640 bore.

I have tried my Schilke 60 with it and was not that happy with the tone that resulted. It also gave me some weird pitch issues (octave Ebs were way off).

Foor some years I used 2 different Schilke 60’s on euph and basssbone. The one I prefererred had an enourmously opened up backbore with a 9mm+ throath opening.

My reference notes on bassbone and on euph (which I concider a high range tuba) are the B natural and the C just above the peda. They shall speak immediately and with full tonal, pitch, and dynamic control.

I never was totally happy with the rounded rim om the Schilke 60. The flat rimmed and sharp edged Yeo also had its backbore, but not its throat opened up, and it still gave me an overall easier playing control. Hence the shift.

Bob1062 wrote:I have been using my Belmonte 24AW mouthpiece that I bought a few years ago in school to replace my ratty Bach 18.
I really like the way it sounds, and pitch is much more workable. I just need to have the reciever changed "some day" so I don't look/feel like an idiot

"Experts" tell tall changing the receiver is all it takes. I am doubtful. I go for a change of the full leadpipe.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

PS: As some of you know, I take a pride in writing a decent English. My eyesight is terribly unstable currently. Please take no offense.

Got my eyes under daily treatment and have gotten new and much better glasses as lately as yesterday. Quite a relief.

I reread the thread and discovered, that I may have misunderstood one of the questions and hence have given a wrong answer.

I have not been tempted to use the DW4 small shank tuba mouthpiece on my Yamaha 641 comp euph!

But the question may have been, whether I had been tempted to use the DW 0(zero)AL bassbone mouthpiece on my euph. And there the reply would be yes. The DW 0AL is immensely good for playing the mid-upper range euph lines as know from British and, with a slightly different character, German military marches. If I were doing parades the Yeo would have exhausted me in no time.

However I spent my last band years in a small local community band (sponsored by the railways), where I doubled on euph and bassbone. I wrote a lot of the arrangements myself with the object to support the bones, the baritones, and the tuba as much as possible for a varied band sound.

The shorter periods of high baritone lines were very well possible on the Yeo, as I might play very low bassbone lines in the next piece (and there I needed the Yeo). I even have played the contrabass tuba lines an octave below the bass tuba using my euph. Sounds great and with fine clarity in our small rural churches, many of them 800 or 900 years old.

The DW 0AL doesn’t bring the optimum out of the YEP641 seen over its full range, but the DW 0AL is fine for an instrument acquired later on: a pre-WWI Cerveny red brass Kaiserbariton with 4 rotary valves arranged to work especially fast (I think Joe S has a similar instrument). The Cerveny isn’t nearly as full and strong as the 641, but then it is much more elegant and much easier to play, as long as it is not used as a substitute tuba. The DW 0AL doesn’t go very deep into the receiver, but it works well, as it does on one of my real oddities: a Kaiserbariton in C by A. Eser - Instrumentenmacher – Gütersloh. Only 3 rotors, probably made for church playing.

And even I have bought a DW 1(non-L) tuba mouthpiece to be used on my 1970 New Standard BBb 3+1 comper. It won’t say as much as my US BBb’s, but that isn’t the purpose either. I just got an offer, which I couldn’t refuse.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre