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this Holton is currently in Chanute KS. It's used in the "Sauerkraut Oompah Band" that annually plays before us in Independence, KS.

Great sounding horn, and it's in great shape. I haven't had the chance to play it, they're always quick to leave to go to another gig.

Are you supposed to blow into it or stuff it with rolled-up t-shirts and fire them at the crowd?!

You wouldn't need a mic or sound system with that Holton, now, would you?

um...sorry about the size of that pic. GIMP is great!

A tuba like that was on sale at Dillon about 5 years ago ( I was there to buy my horn) and I played it, I fell in love with the sound it had, I still remeber it, and I still regret I didn't buy it... At that time I was younger and wanted to be cool and ended up buying a 5v CC instead... I still keep the picture of that horn (see below)

hmmm...they may actually be one and the same. The owner has told me he bought it over the Internet from some place back east, about 5 years ago...

wow!

I'll bet he plays the F at the bottom of the staff 1-3.

Rick "among other quirks" Denney

How are the false tones on that horn? Open (false tone) should be low Ab, right?

Yes, assuming it was the same horn that I tried out it's Bb, unfortunately I don't remember so much about intonation, but the sound was really unique, and not having tried any other old Holton, I wonder if it's something you can get out of a 345 original or cut...

Gionata

There is no question about the key..it's a BBb.

gionvil wrote:Yes, assuming it was the same horn that I tried out it's Bb, unfortunately I don't remember so much about intonation, but the sound was really unique, and not having tried any other old Holton, I wonder if it's something you can get out of a 345 original or cut...

Gionata

These had the same bell stack as a 345, except that the bell is trimmed to a 20" diameter on the 345 and on the one pictured looks to be 22". The bottom bow and the outer branches look basically the same, and I'm sure Holton used the same tooling they already had for the 345. Based on my own Holton and on others, that tooling must have been old and hard to understand by the guys using it in the 60's.

I would not be at all surprised if the first three valves were the same except for the port configuration. The measurements on my fourth valve are markedly different from the first three, leading me to believe that they came from a different batch.

That bell and bottom bow sure makes a glorious sound, but Holtons do not have a glow-in-the-dark reputation for easy intonation. Reverence for such instruments should be reserved until after you have played it.

Rick "who has played a lot of Holtons, including a few really good ones" Denney