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The horn for sale by Tulsa on the auction site is the old style King 2341 that was compatable with a recording or upright bell.

The new King 2341 that everyone was talking about in your other post is a different horn. Although there are similarities, the two intstruments are very different in terms of size, sound, and playability. You should compare them before purchasing them. If you like the aspects of a short, fat, compact horn, you would be disappointed with the old style. However, if you like the old style, they can be had for much less than the new style.

....I think upright bells are only more desirable in terms of resale as they are the current de jure in the tuba world, but I can think of many instances where a recording bell would be nice to have. I guess it might also be easier to find a one piece case or gig bag for an upright bell also...

Can you trust an ebay seller? Maybe. Maybe not. Best thing to do is visit if you can and try the horn. If that's not possible, call or email and ask questions- are they a music store or pawn shop? At best, you should pay quite a bit less for a horn that you can't try before buying, and even less when buying from a seller you don't know. And for the price you mentioned, this is a deal that you can walk away from.

The detachable bell means that this is an "old style" 2341. The detachable bell is mostly bad, in my opinion, since you'll have to have two cases to cart it around, and the new style is a significant improvement in many respects in playing. Check out Baltimore Brass and Dillon if you haven't already. These are folks you can trust and will work to make things right. That's worth paying a bit more for.

Bill Anderson

If my memory's correct, the old style 2341 had two different upright bells available. The older ones had a 22.5" bell and the newer ones had a 20"-ish ones. Both make the horn very tall, as contrasted with the more compact "new" 2341.

Some folks really like the old ones, but that's something for you to decide.

Chuck(G) wrote:If my memory's correct, the old style 2341 had two different upright bells available. The older ones had a 22.5" bell and the newer ones had a 20"-ish ones. Both make the horn very tall, as contrasted with the more compact "new" 2341.

Some folks really like the old ones, but that's something for you to decide.

Yep.

At $2899 this horn is priced too high, so no one is bidding on it. Here's a vote FOR the old 2341 and AGAINST the new 2341. I've owned both.

Buy a 2341 BellFront from a store known to be good and recommended on TubeNet (sponsors) and then buy an upright 19" bell from Sam Gnagey. If your son is a small fry then maybe you don't want an old style 2341, since as noted above they are 42" tall and on the heavier side. My 2340 with bell up fits in a (big) gig bag.

Eric "wondering if the seller will ever get the hint and reduce the price" L.

Call Matt Walters at Dillions He will go above and beyond the call of duty to help

I have bought from Tulsa once. They sold me a Bach 50 A3L, and the transaction was a complete success. No problems with horn or company. Good communication and good people.

Tom Mason

I have played both kinds of the King tuba in years past and present. Right now, well, see my signature. It's hard to quantify the difference between conventional bell and detachable bell. Play both, see what you like.