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Hey Gang,

I am visiting Phoenix to play a concert of John Cage music this weekend and am maximizing my stay by recording some tuba tracks for my marimba band CD. I have been loaned this tuba for the sessions. It is a Hanstone HT-TB101L. Never heard of it but it plays really nicely, good range, good scale, and (for me, anyway) a sweet, pure tuba tone.

So who made it? Has anyone had any experience with these tubas?

LJV wrote:Stencil of a B&S/VMI 101, me thinks...

That woulda been my uneducated guess.

Is that a left-handed tuba?

skeath wrote:Is that a left-handed tuba?

I originally thought the same thing. The picture was taken in a mirror. Look on the left side of the picture for perspective.

1st, I love that wrap. What is the total height of that horn?
2nd, Is it typical to play a gig on a borrowed horn if you're travelling by air?

Decoding that brand is easy: Made by Han Chinese using stone mandrels.

LJV wrote:Stencil of a B&S/VMI 101, me thinks...

Yes. Probably made in the 70's. aka 'Sonora', 'Gerhard Schneider', 'Carl Wunderlich', etc. Good horns. Most of the ones I've seen are quite tall... about 42" with a 16 1/2" bell.

Here's one just like it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VMI-Model-101-BBb-T ... 3ef9c4bbed

My tuba is also one of those - a "Weltklang" B&S Bb from GDR times. They have been marketed under countless brand names, as it seems. Mine has clocksprings and is supposed to be made in 1966. I had the S-links converted to minibal this year.
It is a good sounding horn, intonation always manageable. What surprises me is how easy it goes into the high and very high register and how good it sounds up there. The low F and E are not the sweet point of that tuba though...

Gerd

They are Chinese and back in the early 90s The Tuba Exchange imported them and was the only dealer. From what I can remember from player reaction, second-hand only, was that some were okay, most were not.