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nmtom wrote:Could anyone tell me how hard would it be to find a first valve for a Reynolds Contempra tuba (Bb)?

I think I've got one of those valves. We'll see how the bidding goes before I dig it out and possibly offer to sell it to you.

And you can always check out the Contempora Corner for more info about your instrument in the meantime:

http://contemporacorner.com/
http://contemporacorner.com/lowbrass.html

Perhaps someone could verify this for me, but I THINK the Contempora pistons are identical to the Olds 0-99. They appear on Ebay fairly often, in various states of disrepair. I might have such a piston in my junk pile; I will look when I get a chance.

Art Hovey wrote:Perhaps someone could verify this for me, but I THINK the Contempora pistons are identical to the Olds 0-99.

Art... I get a bit confused about the Olds numbering and their use of the name 'Contempora'. The tuba in question appears to be one of the 'big ones' and I doubt if the pistons from the small-bore Olds 0-99 will work. The Olds 0-98 is the full-size horn. It seems to me that the 'Contempora' name has appeared on both the small and large bore horns. The Olds 0-95 sousa (brass) and 96 sousa (fiberglass) pistons might be the same size but I doubt if the number one pistons will interchange. Dunno. May Bloke can shed some light on this. I notice that the Olds pistons that are listed in the popular repair parts catalog have dissappeared from the most recent price list.

nmtom wrote:looks like a good long-term project to keep me busy and out of trouble

How 'bout woodsheddin' and learning how to play the shizzle out of that awesome 1240?

Eric "who has intimate knowledge of that particular horn" L.

The Reynolds Contempora recording tuba I played was indeed the larger horn with the larger valves (King 2340/1240-like in design) that are different than an O-99.

Cool, once you get some chops back, someone here on the board can probably recommend somebody in your area to give a lesson or two. It's important to catch any bad habits early on when you come back from not playing for years (been there).

Yeah, I noticed the project horn on the 'Bay is in ABQ. I am obsessive about my hobbies also, as my wife and kids point out often. If I could ever get as passionate about my job as I do my avocations, I would be a millionaire.

Eric

I'm wondering if someone on here won it. I was in on the last minute bidding and got out done. I was hoping for steal it at the last moment type of bid, and had it for all of 2 seconds, before someone else took it away.

Yeah... I missed it too. I was off playing a little music when the auction ended. I've had a couple of these horns and don't really regard them as anything 'special' anyway. I would have only bought it to hammer out and resell. No remorse here in Southern Indiana.

Actually, a four-valve 0-99 is a MUCH better player (in my opinion).

Or chopped to CC...

J.c.S.

Hmmm.... Intriguing...

J.c.