My New HB-50

[Kory101]

I was recently requested to share the story of how I got my new Yorkbrunner. So here it is.

I had been looking into getting a bigger horn for a while. I was looking at a few. A Baer, a PT-6 and a Yorkbrunner. When it came down to it, financially, the HB-50 made more sense. The horn was located in Canada which would allow me to avoid paying taxes and duties and all that other stuff to get the horn.

I came across Chris Lee (Principal Tuba with the Winnipeg Symphony) who was selling his HB-50. He had just bought a Yamayork and was selling his horn. He had hand picked the horn out from a batch of 3 or 4 in Switzerland a few years back. I got in contact with him and a few weeks later, the horn arrived in a gigantic wooden crate and a new chapter in my growth had begun.

I'd been asking everyone I could what they thought of all these different horns. People kept saying when it comes down it, the Yorkbrunner just has that "tuba sound" that everybody loves and I couldn't agree more. There has been some custom work done on the horn by Ron Partch in Toronto. The 2nd and 3rd slides have been shortened and the leadpipe has been taken off the bell to allow the bell to resonate a bit more. A few people had said that playing a 6450 felt awesome at first but the novelty wore off after a while. The sound just isn't as colourful as a HB-50. I can't say that for sure as I haven't had any experience with a 6450.

The sound of the HB-50 is the sound in my ear of how a tuba should sound. Fat, live, colourful and (when paired with the right mouthpiece) able to fill a hall like no other horn I've heard.

There has been some custom work done on the horn by Ron Partch in Toronto. The 2nd and 3rd slides have been shortened and the leadpipe has been taken off the bell to allow the bell to resonate a bit more.

I am so happy with this instrument and want to thank Chris Lee for being such a delight to work with and keeping this horn in pristine condition! So that's my story. Enjoy!

Here are a few pics of the horn

[Mojo workin']

Congrats. I am green with envy. They are beautiful horns.

[The Big Ben]

Good luck! Glad you are happy. That horn is a real beauty.