TubeNet

Hello All,

I see a lot more 3 valve vintage Eb's for sale than 4 valvers. Would it make any sense to get one of these [say a 3 v Monster Eb] and have a fourth valve put on? Or is a new Chinese Eb a better bet?

Thanks for any advice.

This has been covered before but here is a nice link to art hovey's conversion:

http://www.galvanizedjazz.com/tuba/frugalhorn.html


If you can do it yourself and got the parts cheaply, it might be worth it. It might also be a fun project.

On the other hand, If you have to pay a tech and get a new valve and tubing , it could cost you as much as a good used 4-valve Eb (approx. 2K) just to get the valve on the horn. Unless the tech has a whole bunch of used parts and he is willing to let you have cheaply and he is in the area close to where you live. If you have buy new parts or ship the horn out, those costs add up pretty quickly.

Here is one of the other places it was posted
viewtopic.php?t=12960&highlight=

If the horn is in good shape and has a good scale, it might be worth it. I think it'd be easier on a front action horn than a top action. Most of them seem to have a .689ish valve bore, so you could try getting a new 4th valve from King/Conn/..... I don't like the results when people use a 2nd valve, although it might be possible to flip it 180 degrees....?
You could also use a rotary valve as the 4th. That way it'd be easier to get a long pull on it and you could put it on your thumb if you like.

For starters (once again, if it has a good scale and is in good shape), I suggest playing the horn as is for a while with possibly some mild mods. I have a pre-1915 H.N. White King Eb with 3 valves that I play a lot. The only work I've had done to it is to flip the 1st valve slide and cut down the main slide crook. It's playable with only minimal slide movement, but the way I have it setup I move them a bit more and am fine with that. I had an small old Conn stencil that really only needed a slide pull for 123, but the horn was pretty beat up. I've seen cleaner ones occasionally.

My current small Eb next to a euphonium-


My old Lyon&Healy Conn stencil-


Bloke has a nice opinion of these Conns. I'd like to try one sometime-


If you're fine with playing F, a used Cerveny 653 might be a better option if you want a small 4 valve horn. New 653/5's, at least, are awesome horns-

Thanks for the replies, guys. I am astounded that adding a valve and some tubing and an old tuba could cost $2K. I am close enough to a good repair person [Rich Ita] that I could transport the tuba and I know that Rich has a slew of old parts, though I don't know what he has for tuba. His prices have always been reasonable to me.

If I could find a decent vintage 3+1 Eb for $2K, I think I would jump on it. As it is I am thinking about taking a plane to the UK to find an old B&H. Tuba for under $2k and a free trip to London!