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Is the Conn 36J intended to be played using a bit?

pauvog1 wrote:A bit? What do you mean?

A sousaphone "bit". Extending the leadpipe.

Artists renditions can be exceedingly inaccurate. Try it and see:

1) If playing without the bit, how do the ergonomics feel, and do you have to pull the main tuning slide out more than, say, 3/4 inch? If so it might need the bit.

2) If playing with the bit, does the horn feel in any way "unstable," or hard to get in tune even when shoving the tuning slide all the way in? If so, then it probably doesn't use the bit.

Ken,
I've pictures of those big Conns with and without the tuning bit. Whatever works best for you is the correct answer.

GPT wrote:Picture from the Conn Loyalist doesn't show it with a tuning bit, so I'd assume no.

It's sort of difficult to give credence to a picture of a horn with the bell on backwards!

At any rate.... there are two reasons to use a bit on anything...

1) to drop the pitch a dab. (and I did say a 'dab' because it isn't going to change it much!)
2) to put the mouthpiece into a more convenient playing position.

Whatever works for you is the ultimate answer.

Use of the tuning bit on a horn that size is really about playing comfort rather than intonation. It makes a big difference when on that big beast, I guarantee you.

JJ

bloke wrote:

I see the greenhouse effect has come to West Tennessee.

K

The arrival of the greenhouse effect in Western Tennessee shouldn't surprise us, as it has been resident in the Eastern part of that great state for some years now.

I play my Bohm and Meinl/Nirschl/Marzan/Whatever using a sousa bit. Doesn't have much say on intonation and the like. I use it to put the horn in a more comfortable position to hold.

Apparently libertarians are hard to swallow.

K

ZNC Dandy wrote:I play my Bohm and Meinl/Nirschl/Marzan/Whatever using a sousa bit. Doesn't have much say on intonation and the like. I use it to put the horn in a more comfortable position to hold.

Me too...but I do use it to give myself a litte more tuning slide. It is nice to know that no matter how you want to hold the horn each day, you can find a comfortable playing position because of the bit.

imperialbari wrote:Apparently libertarians are hard to swallow. K

continuing...(I think I wrote this...but it disappeared, or was never sent, or...)

I find that the bit doesn't make much difference in pitch - but does help by offering more flexibility in playing position. Which brings me to...

I can't find a (reasonable) playing position that allows my pinky to reach the 4th valve. An "extender" attached to the 4th valve stem will probably fix that. I suspect it was intended to be held at an angle in the lap, while I prefer it more upright, on a rest.

And - my mouthpieces don't seem to insert (into either the receiver or the bit) as far as they do in my other tubas (in particular, my new, new King 2341).

If it matters, the SN (on the 2nd valve casing) is 29096. I must be misreading the Conn serial number site. It looks *way* too good to have been built in 1933.

Finally - mouthpiece wisdom? Any way to tame the Flat-F blues? Big? small? cup? bowl?

I haven't started to seriously set the tuning slides, but right now open and 1-3 give about the same result for the F at the bottom of the staff.

Tuesday-night band has "Carmina Burina" in the folder - this must be the right horn for that piece!
I doubled my yearly quota of low D's in one rehearsal!

sloan wrote:an exceedingly simple question

"I do not think that word means what you think it means."