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Hallo Everyone,

I came across a rather interesting old tuba recently and I'm trying to find out more information about it.
It's a 5/4 Kaiser BBb with 4 rotary valves. It states on the kranz "A.E.Fischer Bremen 1242" and on the other side "1938".
It's approximately the same size as my Fafner BBb. It's rather plain looking without engraving, but seems for the most part original.

Bore 21mm
Bell 47cm
Height 108cm

I found a pic on the Horn-u-copia site that's a bit similar, but I'm curious about who actually manufactured this tuba. A general Google search hasnt turned up much
Sorry the pics arent so good from my phone and I'll post better ones when I get home.
Ciao
2165

2165 wrote:Hallo Everyone,

I came across a rather interesting old tuba recently and I'm trying to find out more information about it.
It's a 5/4 Kaiser BBb with 4 rotary valves. It states on the kranz "A.E.Fischer Bremen 1242" and on the other side "1938".
It's approximately the same size as my Fafner BBb. It's rather plain looking without engraving, but seems for the most part original.

Bore 21mm
Bell 47cm
Height 108cm

I found a pic on the Horn-u-copia site that's a bit similar, but I'm curious about who actually manufactured this tuba. A general Google search hasnt turned up much
Sorry the pics arent so good from my phone and I'll post better ones when I get home.
Ciao
2165

The lead-pipe reminds me of the tuba on the right in this picture, but the tuning slide does not match...

Wim

When I was in search for my first tuba some years ago, i found an old A.E.Fischer Bremen tuba on that german auction site. I asked Mr. Kromat http://www.kromatbrass.de/D-kromatbrass ... ss_de.html, who made a trombone for me, and also does some nice reataurations on old horns, if he knew this brand, because his shop is located near Bremen. He said, they made some fine instruments, but they are all pre 1945, so quality depends mostly on the condition of the actual instrument. Seems that the shop of A.E. Fischer was destroyed in the war and did not open again after war.

gerd

Here's two somewhat better pics..
Thanks Wim, but I think the leadpipe is a latter addition from Gottfried Büchel's Werkstatt in Bonn. The tuba itself doesnt seem like a B&F from the shape of the braces and so on, or?
Danke auch Gerd! Ich glaube die Teile waren in Bremen versammelt aber vielleicht von ein andere Bauer bestellt...aber bin nicht sicher.

bueller...bueller, anyone?

The braces look like modern B&S braces, as might be commonly found on any 70's-era Symphonie. B&S is a communist-era name (at least as applied to tubas, if I'm remembering Klaus's recounting of the history correctly), but I'm sure it was applied to a factory or factories that existed in the Markneukirchen/Kliengenthal area prior to that time. I have no idea who that might be. I seem to recall that Bohland and Fuchs was just one. The solder flanges for things like the thumb ring are not the same as modern B&S, however.

Of course, Bremen is about as far from Markneukirchen as you can get and still be in Germany, heh. A. E. Fischer was a music store/publisher going back to the 19th century who marketed a line of their own instruments (possibly owning or partly owning some factories), similar to Carl Fischer in the United States. Google still shows a Bremen address for them, but they have no other recent web presence I can find, and the Google reference is probably some historical location. I found references to all sorts of band instruments attributed to them. They could have been made by any German factory in those days, or even in the Graslitz region of the (now) Czech Republic.

Hornucopia shows several tubas by A. E. Fischer, here: http://www.horn-u-copia.net/display.php ... arton=2820

The first one looks similar to yours, but older:




This one is labeled an Eb but might be a cheapie F with a conversion slide, or a low-pitch conversion slide, which would date it to the WWI era or earlier.



This one looks newer than yours, with B&S-style solder flanges on the thumb ring but not with B&S-style braces:



How does it play?

Rick "finding only clues" Denney

Thanks Rick! I appreciate the help!
As noted earlier, the factory was bombed in the early 1940s. I went to the street in Bremen where it originally stood, and you would never know there was an instrument maker there:( The music publishing side of the business, and an unrelated? flute maker with the same name are still in Bremen.
I compared it yesterday to a 1978 and 1960 B&S Symfonie F and the braces are completely different..with heavier construction for the Fischer and a different machining method. If they were ordering parts in from other makers (a common practice then and now) it might explain the variations we see in the various pictures or?
There is a good music instrument museum in Markneukirchen and in Munich and I'm writing to the guys at both in case they know a bit more about it or the maker's history.
It plays like my Fafner, but sounds like a very big Alexander (ie- speaks fast, but a very warm sound). My collegue in orchestra speculated that the bell was identical to his old 164 Alex Kaiser, but I need an example to compare.
Who know, maybe we will never know?! It's simply nice to be able to put such an old, but well crafted tuba back into use.
Thanks again!
2165