TubeNet

Does anyone have any experience with the 52j, 54j, or 56j? Which finish is best?(Laquer, Silver, Satin Silver) I'm considering different tubas and need as much info as possible. Thanks!

I have played silver, satin silver, lacquer, gold, and other finishes. I think silver looks the best but they all seemed to play about the same. Don't let us influence you on this. Most of my tubas have a lacquer finish (or what's left of a lacquer finish). They all sound fine.

Several years ago, when they first came out and the prices were down, they were one of the best CC buys for the money. Now the price has been jacked, and for the money there are probably better horns.

Doc wrote:

iiipopes wrote:Several years ago, when they first came out and the prices were down, they were one of the best CC buys for the money. Now the price has been jacked, and for the money there are probably better horns.

Can you say, "THOR?"

I have not had the pleasure. I must take your word for it. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to try one out.

I own a King 2341 and am not commenting on the playability of a Conn 5XJ or on whether they are worth considering, but on the finish. I tried a number of samples before buying mine, in bright silver, satin silver and lacquer. I don't believe that finish has any impact on the playability of a horn, or if it does the diference is so small as to be masked by the differences caused by sample variation.

I bought satin silver because the two that I thought played the best happened to be in satin silver and lacquer and I liked the look of the satin silver. After owning it for several years I find the satin silver easiest to maintain looking good. My bright silver horns tarnish faster and the silver on the King/Conn bright silver horns that I have seen seems to have a tendency to wear or flake away after a relatively short period of time. Lacquer horns that I have owned over a similar period of time have all had lacquer begin to wear away. My satin silver horn looks as good as when I bought it 5 years ago or so.

Random thoughts:

1. I read on this bbs that Kyle Turner used a 54J for a while with the NY Phil.

2. use the "search" feature and type THIS into the search window: "kyle turner" AND "conn 54J"

3. Melissa Williams, tuba prof at Butler U (Indianapolis) plays a 56J

4. Hey -- **I** play one! (56J)

5. Earlier post, BLOKE listed the 52J as a reasonable choice for a "could cover most bases" single-tuba solution (with disclaimer)

6. I use my 56J for everything from quintet to church orchestra gigs, changing mpcs as appropriate.

7. Mine is satin silver -- a little more effort required to WASH off the horn w/ soap & water after polishing, to ensure all the black tarnish you've broken loose by polishing "leaves" the horn and doesn't hang on in the little "pits" on the surface, only to come off on light colored trousers later. But polishing seems to be only an annual affair.

[edit -- adding #8 - 11]

8. .... but I really like the Satin Silver finish, from a visual perspective. Also -- doesn't show minor dings or scratches as noticeably.

9. I wouldn't make the finish my primary area of concern. From what I've read, there is some variation in characteristics, so I'd buy the best (in your opinion) one I could find, regardless of what finish it comes with. I bought mine from Andy Smith of TubeNet fame, who played several and selected what he thought was a "good one". Melissa Williams (cf #3 above) thought mine was as good as hers, and hers was a custom selected / tweaked model from the plant (she's a "Conn Performing Artist"). So, Andy did a good job selecting this one. (Thanks, Andy!)

10. Based on MY use for tuba(s), I'm thinking that a 52J would be a better horn for me. Most of my playing is quintet, and I agree with Bloke that the 52J would be a better one-tuba solution than the 56J. But the 56J works okay for me, and probably works a little better when playing with larger groups.

11. Mine has fairly good intonation. Very little slide pulling is needed, but some alternate fingerings are beneficial (the standard ones). My only real complaint is the 2,3,5 combinations, that sometimes blow a little stuffy for me. Check for posts by "LV" on a larger 5th valve mod that Matt Walters did for his 56J (Detriot area). I'm thinking about that for mine.

HTH,