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Harvey Hartman and I have done a lot of projects together. Here is a picture of one of the 2XJ Conn CC tubas that we've done.

The body was an original Conn 20J.
The valve set is Böhm-Meinl (now Nirschl)
The 5th valve is a Rotax.

The sound and intonation is similar to the BBb version but has the nimbleness of a CC. What I like best about Conn 2XJ tubas is their low bottom register. Harv and I were able to keep that charcteristic when changing it into CC.

That must be a very nice tuba if you have kept the 2XJ sound on a CC!

What is that long slide going way above the top bow?

Jonathan "who enjoyed playing his friend's 26J almost as much as his Neptune"

Neptune wrote: What is that long slide going way above the top bow?

That's the 4th valve circuit. I wanted to eliminate as many bends as possible to keep the bottom register free-blowing and it seemed to work. Consequently, I must remove or re-position the bell before taking out the 4th valve slide.

Certainly is unique. You don't see too many recording bell CCs. Of course you could contact Lee Stofer to order an upright bell for this, but it looks like with that long slide you might not be able to even use an upright on it.

When you say the intonation is similar to the BBb, that isn't usually a good thing in my mind. While I like the 2XJ sound, intonation can be a challenge. I am assuming that with the new valve section you have better intonation than it would have originally had.

Lew wrote:When you say the intonation is similar to the BBb, that isn't usually a good thing in my mind. While I like the 2XJ sound, intonation can be a challenge. I am assuming that with the new valve section you have better intonation than it would have originally had.

I can play the 20J's in tune and for me the intonation on this horn is quite workable. The C and B in the staff are a little sharp but spending a few minutes with a tuner usually clears that up.

Lew wrote: Of course you could contact Lee Stofer to order an upright bell for this, but it looks like with that long slide you might not be able to even use an upright on it.

Thanks, for the advice, I've got everything I need. A 21J upright bell fits fine on the horn. The 4th slide can go in for transporting and putting on other bells.

I made this horn to see if it can be done and to see what the result would be. The difficulty in cutting these tubas is cutting in the right place and keeping a consistant taper. I tried to pay hommage to Conn by not changing too much in the bugle and the result is a horn that has both the sound and intonation characterists of the original Conn. It certainly is playable and I like the sound of it. It works really well for jazz and 1920's dance bands.

Wow. Cool project. I play a Conn 20J and love it.

Why did you choose CC instead of BBb?

Thanks, and again great job!

Now you have me pondering the possibilities for my 20J.

Timswisstuba wrote:

Neptune wrote: What is that long slide going way above the top bow?

That's the 4th valve circuit. I wanted to eliminate as many bends as possible to keep the bottom register free-blowing and it seemed to work. Consequently, I must remove or re-position the bell before taking out the 4th valve slide.

Another solution is the one Kalison used on the K2001. I own one, and the low register is very free-blowing. The big gentle loop around the bottom bow keeps it very open and responsive.

Neat on the Kallison, but wow that looks like a lot of exposed tubing that could get dented.

MileMarkerZero wrote: Another solution is the one Kalison used on the K2001. I own one, and the low register is very free-blowing. The big gentle loop around the bottom bow keeps it very open and responsive.

That Kalison big loop is very similar to the routing on the rotary Neptune, although that is on the back of tuba