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Dear TubeNet Community:

I have heard over the years that the short stack King 2341 has had quality control problems, but when you can get a good one, that it is a great 'bang-for the-buck' horn. Have these horns quality control improved? Also, how about the availability of parts for them? (Bloke, Tuba Tinker, & Mr. Denney, please chime in).

Thank you.

Parts for the new King 2341 should not be a problem. I've only had limited playing experience with the new ones so I can't comment about that.

Contact Matt at Dillon Music, he will shoot you straight about what they are putting out at Eastlake these days. Matt can also provide the final QC that seems to have been missing in the past. He probably knows these horns better than anyone, since he had a hand in the design (or so I read somewhere).

I traded in my 2341 rather than continue to deal with the quality problems. This was over five years ago, not sure what's up right now.

Eric "who bought a 2341 from a dealer other than Dillon and regretted it" L.

I bought one of the new series horns in 2002. It was satin silver and had an extremely rough finish; it also had some serious solder splatters that had been plated over. During the break-in period, the valves were extremely gritty feeling, but they were very smooth after break-in. The shank was Euro sized rather than American, but large-shank mouthpieces dealt with the problem.

The biggest problem I had with the horn, and the reason I got rid of it after 3 years, was that the 1st and 2nd valve slides were cut too long. It was extremely difficult to play the horn in tune. I've heard that they've fixed this problem since.

Its tone was good, and it was an attractive horn. Still, its intonation problems were the deal-breaker for me.

I play one from 2001. They had added the longer ferruls in back to bring the pitch down. The frosted silver plating was rough to the touch and the valves were noisy and not smooth. But I loved the sound and the short bell so my repairman performed the burr removal from the valve guide groove procedure and put in plastic valve guides. The plating has become smooth to the touch over the years and I still love the sound. The valve do leak quite a bit, alot more than the 1959 silver King I had before it and still own and use. Whether or not the construction is better if you play a really good one the issues can be fixed. If it plays out of tune, don't buy it and keep on trying them until you find the right one. Even the way high priced horns don't come to you perfect, there's almost always some tweaking to be done. I had a laquered one that I got for my son that blew and sounded alot different from my frosted silver one. I think they are great tubas even if you have to make the pilgrimage to one of the great repairmen to get them just right.Ed

I have played several from the first couple of years, and several from later years. In all cases, the later ones were better. The early ones had a range of issues. One obviously didn't fit together when they assembled it and they had to force it to the point that the braces had pushed in the branches visibly. Later versions didn't have these issues.

The main playability problem I noticed with the early ones was a dead-sounding and stuffy fourth valve branch. This could have been caused by several things, including leaks and valve alignment problems. Again, the later versions I played didn't have this problem.

I agree with Joe that these are really excellent tubas if one does not expect German or Swiss construction quality. I would buy from a source that can provide expert adjustment prior to sale, or from a trusted seller if buying used. My preference on these would be polished and lacquered--I don't like the satin brass and the satin silver seemed more like sandpaper than anything.

Rick "remembering when satin silver was as smooth as satin" Denney

I played one that one of my students had yesterday. It belongs to the high school that he attends. It had a great low register but throughtout the range it felt stuffy. I had just put down my Kalison DS and picked it up but overall it played very well. I guess the bore diffrence between the two horns played a big role in the feeling of the King.

Rick Denney wrote:

The main playability problem I noticed with the early ones was a dead-sounding and stuffy fourth valve branch. This could have been caused by several things, including leaks and valve alignment problems. Again, the later versions I played didn't have this problem.

I suspect that an excellent repairman might be able to tweak all of the later ones to a very good quality level. But, if you are not blessed with one of those...I found a very simple test that seemed to almost perfectly (and very quickly) separate the sheep from the goats.

After warming up and noodling for awhile, play notes that can be fingered with or without the 4th valve (e.g., F at the bottom of the staff). Play the note and move the 4th valve up and down. The bad ones will feel and sound very different with the 4th valve depressed. The good ones will match up very nicely.

Now, that's just a quick test - but it seemed to eventually agree with everything else I did when selecting the one I eventually bought. When played by a competent tuba operator, it's really, really good.

Note that it really helped to buy at a place that had 4 on the floor for testing, and a knowledgeable "tweaker" handy.