TubeNet

Anyone play the B&H Eb at BBC?
http://www.baltimorebrass.net/index.php?cat=5" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
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Anyone know what the intonation is like?
Small or standard receiver?
sound?
etc...
Thanks,
Bill

For rather obvious reasons I haven’t tried the given sample in this said shop. However the text presentation is very specific:

Model Key Used Description Price
981 EEb Used EEB tuba in silver, like new, w/ besson case

The key information is “981”, which implies large receiver and fast expansion of the bore in the leadpipe (as opposed to the 982 with its large receiver and slower expansion of the leadpipe bore).

The photo doesn’t contradict the text, only this sample appears to have synthetic rings on the male slide branches. There are none of these on my 981, which was delivered June 4th in 1999 and first used in a Constitution Day concert the next day.

For most of the years I played the 981 with a PT-50. I liked the big fat sound, but since last fall I use the Mike Finn 3H, which brings more focus without loss of playability in the tough range just above the open pedal.

I like my contrabasses, but the 981 is my best tuba with the widest range and the best playability (the old Boosey F comes close, but has a lesser intonation and a smaller sound with its smaller bell after the same valve block).

With my choice of mouthpieces the 5th and 10th partials are on the flat side, but I don’t really care, as this can be managed by means of the compensating valve system.

Despite the good low range the 981 is not a substitute for a real contrabass tuba.

Klaus

Boosey & Hawkes NOT Besson Eb
sorry for any confusion

The error is on my side, but then what I said on the 981 still stands.

This older Eb model may be the first tuba version I ever played. As bassboner I was instructor on a weekend camp for the junior section of my brass band. The tubist disappeared Sunday morning due to church duties, but left his tuba for us to bring for at street concert in the afternoon. I took the tuba to lay the bottom in a rehearsal for the full group. I remember how easily this instrument was played.

This model has the small receiver needing a mouthpiece like the Denis Wick 3 (non-L). The 15" bell gives a compact sound much less full than the 981. I must say that I have heard this model been played very ugly, as it can be overblown in a very rough way.

This model was phased out around 1978, when the 19" bell was introduced as a standard on the 4 valve Eb compers, but not on the 3 valve compers. So it is no less than 30 years old.

The complex tubing of the compensating system makes it less easy to take off the block for redoing the valves. This should be remembered, when evaluating the price one will pay for this instrument.

Klaus

Howdy Bill,
I gave it a toot last week and was impressed by its openness in the low register and pop in the high range. It is definitely a small receiver, my American shank MP stuck way out. Pitch felt OK. I liked the compact sound better than the more diffuse 981 they had there. If I didn't already have too many tubas and not enough money, that's a horn I wouldn't mind adding to the herd. . . that being said, I didn't spend much time on any particular tuba, as I was only passing through, so that was just my initial impression.

definitely worth checking out, if you're interested in that kind of horn,
YMMV,
T. J.

If you want to play in a Boosey/Besson Imperial tuba/euphonium in tune, you must have a Kosi Cup mouthpiece. It is essential to have the right fit in the leadpipe and the Kosi Cup Mouthpiece was a wonderful match.

I owned a 981 years ago and thought it was a great tuba. Never found it unfocused. I liked it better than the subsequent 982 and 983 models I later owned.

It would behoove you to do an inspection of the inside bore for any Besson instrument produced in the last year or two. I bought a 982 that just played terribly. Looking in the main tuning slide and I found a curled sliver of brass (from drilling the water key hole) standing upright in the middle of the bore. I knocked it out and the horn played better. Found another sliver in the other tuning slide, same deal. I ran a serious cleaning brush through the horn, removing junk from the inside and result was an enormously improved tuba.

I would liked to have been able to scope the horn, that would have been interesting.

Belltrouble wrote:Somebody may just ask the shop for the serial number,which is punched in where the upper bow meets the bell,then the instrument can easily be dated.
If I look at the connections braces? between the valve tubing in front I see an instrument which dates back to the very early 60´ies or even older.
That shape of those connecting things,sorry,don´t know the proper term ,didn´t appear even on my now sold 1968 Besson/B&H,that one used a shape of those connection things already which is still in use today.
people may compare from the here given pics.

cheers,

Kurt

I cannot prove the history of the U-shaped stays alone from my own collection. It is not on my 1870 Besson Eb tuba and not on an 1893 Boosey into my consideration. It is on my 1896 compensating Boosey Eb alto, but in a slightly different form with a thinner brass wire. It is in the “modern” form on my 1923 Boosey F, my 1967 B&H Imperial baritone, my 1970 Besson New Standard BBb, and my 1999 Besson Sovereign 981 Eb. It appears like that shape was used for over 100 years on the British made instruments.

Klaus

I agree with the above comments. Usually they play really well and really in tune. If you can't find a Kosi-Kup, the next mouthpiece of choice is usually a Wick 3 (no letter). I actually prefer the smaller bell models. The few I've heard blended better with the BBb's.

I think this may be the eflat that I owned for a year or so. It is a great little horn and I was stupid to let it go, but I never used it. It has great intonation and with the right MP (I used a Laskey 28G with a small shank) and has great projection. It is also a heavy little beast. GREAT player.....

As a B&H Eb player...

A Miraphone C4 (TU23) works very well in these, pitch wise. I played one for over a decade with a turned-down shank.

A Yamaha Receiver from a YEB-321 can replace the existing receiver perfectly, and you may then use anything you want in it, without changing the extant leadpipe at all.

I currently use a Yamaha Self Replica on mine with a tone intensifier ring on the shank. It's a very powerful sound, but it did pull the highest pitches down a cent or two which I need to keep in mind All in all, it's a very good balance.

These are the most flexible instruments you can own. There's nothing in the world they can't do; there may be a billion pieces you'd want something else for, but a B&H Eb is what I bring when I don't know what's coming!

J.c.

Alex C wrote:It would behoove you to do an inspection of the inside bore for any Besson instrument produced in the last year or two. I bought a 982 that just played terribly. Looking in the main tuning slide and I found a curled sliver of brass (from drilling the water key hole) standing upright in the middle of the bore. I knocked it out and the horn played better. Found another sliver in the other tuning slide, same deal. I ran a serious cleaning brush through the horn, removing junk from the inside and result was an enormously improved tuba.

I would liked to have been able to scope the horn, that would have been interesting.

That sounds really atrocious! I thought the new ones were supposed to be better made? But not if sent out like that - one would expect better from a cheap Chinese/Indian tuba.

On the old B&H Eb. Those tubas can play quite well, but if played hard do have a tendency to 'bark' like a bass trombone.