TubeNet

Take a look to this link:
http://www.thomann.de/es/thomann_profes ... f_tuba.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank
Curious system of rotary valves.
Click on photo to view other perspectives.
Made in germany (for me reminds to...... maybe gronitz?)
Coments?

Gorgeous tuba! Reminds me of a Thein??

Reminds me of the tuba that Melton made for the tubist from the Mnozil Brass. . . similar set-up. However, I wonder about a four-valve F tuba being called "professional" . . .

This diamond arrangement of the rotors ahas been used on some French horns to avoid sharp bends in the knuckles between the rotors.

With this tuba the longer distance between the rotors makes even more sense since it allows a more gradual expansion of bore between the 4 first valves, where the bore difference is 0.5mm (≈0.040") between each valve..

TubeNet some years ago had a thread about a non-Thein CC tuba with this diamond arrangement. Only I don’t remember the name of the German maker.

Klaus

Water keys?? Small beans compared to the rest of the tuba.

I asked Dave Fedderly once if adding a water key to my tuba would affect anything. He said my wallet would be $30 lighter (or whatever he charged me).

(For a $12,000 tuba, I could even handle several extra $30 expenses. )

Hey Brett,
Is that really the price (approx.) of adding a water key to a horn? My Kalison gathers water like nobody's business (other than everyone here ).

Joseph

It was something like that, $30 or $40 (just a plain 'ol spring key, not an Amado or Saturn or anything fancy). Totally worth it for the trouble it avoided.

goodgigs wrote:Nope, not interested.
This is a genuine "gurgle o phone". Definitely the first and third, and probably the fourth valves don't self drain back through the valve set like a miraphone type ( actually invented by Cerveny). Even held perfectly straight up ( which we rarely do ) the water has to go up hill to get out through the valve set.
In a word........gurgle! It might be a great horn if you add a couple more water keys!

Yep! Although this valve set up is AWESOME to look at, this set up is not utilized for a reason. It is NOT conducive to drainage. The horns will literally gurgle and you can even hear the spit in the valves making a splashing noise after articulations.


This horn is probably the coolest looking horn of all time, but that look doesn't translate into usablility.

I assume this is not being sold anywhere in the U.S.

Are many other F's not sold in the U.S.?

goodgigs wrote:This is a genuine "gurgle o phone".

djwesp wrote:This horn is probably the coolest looking horn of all time, but that look doesn't translate into usablility.

Those are rather my thought as well. Rotary tuba design has evolved as it has because the in-a-line valves set up physically works including providing excellent water drainage. Therefore I would be sceptical about this revolutionary design without thoroughly trying.

I wonder if Thomann actually manufacture this tuba themselves, or if not (as I suspect), who does?

Here's a similar instrument that's been discussed here, here and here before.

Neptune wrote:I wonder if Thomann actually manufacture this tuba themselves, or if not (as I suspect), who does?

Thomann were a mail-order retailer and now sells via the web. I very much doubt they manufacture anything themselves. But I cannot tells with which maker they contract.

Klaus

Meister Walter Nirschl, Geretsried

UTSAtuba wrote:Hey Brett,
Is that really the price (approx.) of adding a water key to a horn? My Kalison gathers water like nobody's business (other than everyone here ).

Joseph

I know what you mean. I found a very similar style waterkey to the stock one and put it on the next bow after the valve section. The DS is set up so that as soon as you put the tuba down on the bell, everything drains there, but doesn't go back. Also, I added one on the 4th valve tubing as well. Mine was tricky since I have the lacquer version and the plating on there isn't conducive to solder.

With those two additions, problem solved.

This F tuba looks like it's no worse than a YFB-621 Yamaha, water-wise. I added a pair of Amados to the 2nd and 3rd slides, of mine and occasionally dump 1st and 4th to catch up. I don't think this one would be much worse, and I LOVE the design - I'd kill to try it!

J.c.S.

J.c. Sherman wrote:I'd kill to try it!

J.c.S.

J.c. Sherman wrote:

UTSAtuba wrote:Hey Brett,
Is that really the price (approx.) of adding a water key to a horn? My Kalison gathers water like nobody's business (other than everyone here ).

Joseph

I know what you mean. I found a very similar style waterkey to the stock one and put it on the next bow after the valve section. The DS is set up so that as soon as you put the tuba down on the bell, everything drains there, but doesn't go back. Also, I added one on the 4th valve tubing as well. Mine was tricky since I have the lacquer version and the plating on there isn't conducive to solder.

With those two additions, problem solved.

J.c.S.

Adding a waterkey to the bow right after the valve section is what I had in mind, so I'm glad it worked out for you. Interested thing about having one added to the 4th valve tubing, since mine already has one there (?). Did the make a lacquer version of the DS?

Joseph

Kalison did make a lacquer version, with chrome plated tuning slide crooks! So the chrome had to be ground off to solder on the bow. Later versions had an additional waterkey on the 4th tubing; mine is from before that, but an Amado solved it.

No one here has a Thomann, right?

J.c.S.

J.c. Sherman wrote:No one here has a Thomann, right?

J.c.S.

Thanks for the info, J.c.S.!

Oh, sorry for hacking the thread...

Joseph

I may just out of interest drop in on Thomann and try one of these when I'm in Germany November. If, so I will report back on my impression.


Jonathan "who is quite happy with his PT-15"

J.c. Sherman wrote:
This F tuba looks like it's no worse than a YFB-621 Yamaha, water-wise. I added a pair of Amados to the 2nd and 3rd slides, of mine and occasionally dump 1st and 4th to catch up. I don't think this one would be much worse, and I LOVE the design - I'd kill to try it!

J.c.S.

I was thinking the same thing. It doesn't look like it would drain any worse than a piston F tuba.

I do find it interesting that it has 5 bore sizes, from .689 to .866 inches.