TubeNet

Okay, I've been looking forever for a spare bell for my Conn 20K, so that I can extensively paint a bell without ruining the original. Now, I may have found an orphaned 22K bell.

Two questions:
1) Would it fit? Theoretically, the 22K has the same profile as the 20K; it's just a different material, right? So are the bell tenon and collar actually interchangeable?

2) Would it sound alright? My 20K is from 1958, and it weighs about 35 lbs, which feels like 35 tons by the end of a long parade; a little bit of fiberglass is appealing just on the grounds of comfort, but will I lose tone?

Waddaya think?

Ask bloke. Bloke would know.

Ask Joe, Joe knows everything, he has a super charged 36K, with a Hurst 4 speed overdrive machine. He'd know.

One interesting aspect from Joe’s experience would be whether extensive glossy painting improved the sound and the response? Potentially the sound would benefit from a harder and smoother surface.

Klaus

I would think that a brass bell without the brass body to balance it out would be pretty odd to hold. . . It always seemed to me that a brass body with a fiberglass bell might be the most comfortable to hold because of the center of gravity would be lowest. That being said, most of my sousaphone playing is amplified, so the bell material is unlikely to make that much difference to me. . . Joe has actually mentioned before that the fiber-blaster doesn't have the extra white-noise ring that a resonant metal bell does, so he can play even louder!

--T. J.

Thanks guys!

bloke wrote:You can have fun with a 21J/25J upright tuba bell (24") by putting it on a 38K, 20K, or 40K sousaphone and converting that sousaphone to a convincing "raincatcher" model.

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I've tried to put my 20J bell on my 40K and the collar for the 40K is too big so the 20J bell falls right down in it. You would think they would fit, but they don't. I've also tried putting a 20K sousa bell on my 40K and had the same problem. They are both a tad bit too small. Could it be possible that the collars for the old 38K/40K sousas are slightly larger than the 20K/20J collars? Maybe

Don’t have any 2XJ tubas for comparison. Neither any 20K or 22K.

The inner diameter of the female collar is 185mm which translates rather exactly to 7-9/32".

Klaus

NO. In the '60's I played a brass 20k and the other guy played a 22k. Both were solid brass. His bell would not fit into my sousaphone. The bell from the 22k would sit right on top of my 20k receiver. My bell was so loose in his receiver you couldn't screw it down in place.