Frankentuba: York/King EEb

[ems922]

I recently finished a long-term project of mine that I completed with a lot of help from a local brass repairman. I'm currently pursuing bachelor's degrees in music education and tuba performance so work on the horn was confined to weekends. It took me about a year to complete, but the horn results are astounding so I just wanted to share it with the TubeNet community.

The body is a York Monster EEb (3 piston, top action) circa. 1909. I converted it to a front action horn using a cluster that I built using parts from a couple of King sousaphones that I saved from a trash heap.

Before.png

The valve cluster has a .685" bore. The fourth valve is a #2 from an identical cluster. I had to trim all of the slides from BBb to EEb sizes, which was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I was lucky enough to be able to build the 4th valve slide with tubing I salvaged from the scrap cluster.

cluster.jpg

I was able to save all of the original bugle of the horn by cutting and flipping the innermost branch of the horn. I was able to put it back together using a ferrule that I salvaged from the scrap sousaphone. (I got very lucky with parts during this project). After making a few of my own braces, the cluster was grafted onto the horn quite easily.

retrofit.jpg

After bending a lead pipe, which was the most challenging part of this whole endeavor, I was able to tape all of the loose joints together and try it out. To my astonishment, the horn was perfectly in tune! (I was very lucky. I thought I would have to do some trimming.)

[ems922]

The results are amazing, and I'm not just tooting my own horn... (pun distastefully intended). It has that beautiful, rich, York sound and is extremely open and free blowing. Every partial slots in nicely. The low end took some getting used to, though. It felt stuffy compared to my massive Conn 28j hybrid, but that was to be expected. I'm now starting to get the hang of the low end, and the funky intonation tendencies associated with swapping between horns on the fly. Here is the finished product:

finalstages.jpg

This horn has been a wonderful asset to my tuba arsenal, and it really fits into the picture quite nicely!

YorKingandConnHybrid.jpeg

I recently played it at an Oystein Baadsvik Masterclass, and he seemed to really like the horn. He commented on the openness of the horn, and the rich, York sound.

OysteinontheYorKing.jpg

My only complaints about the horn are that I wasn't able to get the leadpipe angle exactly how I wanted it, and that the bottom caps for the 3rd and 4th valves are partially blocked by the inner wrap of the horn. All of that aside, I am very satisfied with the results, and I am looking forward to adding a 5th valve to the horn, and possibly building a CC tuba for myself.

[Alex C]

What was the difference in size between the York valve set and the King valve set?

[ems922]

I believe it was somewhere in the ballpark of .650", give or take a couple thousandths. It was a bit too small for my liking. I called Bob Rusk and he informed me that .685" would open it up a lot, without making it too tubby. After finishing the project and trying it out, I am glad he gave me this advice. The bore isn't small and stuffy like it originally was, and it isn't too big for the horn either. Mr. Baadsvik said the same thing.

In other words, the King valve set added an extra .035" or so.

[SousaSaver]

Nice job! Looks like a cool little horn!

[Mike Ferries]

I did the identical thing!! I used a 4 valve set off of a King Eb sousaphone, and had Robb Stewart do the work. It plays and sounds great.

[The Big Ben]

Looks good!

If/when you make the CC horn, are you going to make an Eb bigger, a BBb smaller or something all together different?

[ems922]

I'm not entirely sure yet... Most likely I'll shrink a BBb, but I'm waiting until the funds are available before I even think about it.

[Sam Gnagey]

Bravo for your work! And congradulations from someone who knows, first hand, just what you've accomplished. Please feel free to get in touch anytime.
Sam

[toobagrowl]

Great job! It's good to see these old Eb tubas with that classic "heirloom" sound being brought back to life and revived.

[iiipopes]

I believe it was somewhere in the ballpark of .650", give or take a couple thousandths. It was a bit too small for my liking. I called Bob Rusk and he informed me that .685" would open it up a lot, without making it too tubby. After finishing the project and trying it out, I am glad he gave me this advice. The bore isn't small and stuffy like it originally was, and it isn't too big for the horn either. Mr. Baadsvik said the same thing.

In other words, the King valve set added an extra .035" or so.

That's my only complaint with the new "York" Kanstul tubas. I wish they would make a BBb version with the .687 bore that the CC has, instead of the smaller @.650 bore of the originals.

Great instrument. I'd love to see good large Eb tubas start making their way again as a standard complement to concert band instrumentation.

[Robb]

EMS,

Great job making an old tuba more usefull. I had forgotten about the York Eb that I installed a sousaphone valve section for Mike Ferries. That did turn out nice. More recently, I got in a USA Line (student model built by York) the same size, but in very rough shape and the .610" bore valves made it pretty useless. I decided to make the most economical 6/4 Eb possible using a Conn Eb sousaphone three valve section (.698" bore, I think). It plays pretty well and the false notes are good enough that I don't miss the 4th valve, at least for my purposes. It has a few years of patina on it now:

[ems922]

The bigger bore really does make a difference. I can't imagine that thing getting much sound with a .610... although that's probably perfect for a student. I think, when I'm teaching in a public school some day, I'm just going to build tubas for my classroom. Maybe I'll come up with a modular design that grows with the student... I never played a horn that was big enough for me until I got into college. I also think the administration would appreciate the money saved by doing so.

[jeopardymaster]

Well, I was WONDERING what had happened to my old Conn hybrid 28J-and-change. That is a neat horn.

[ems922]

I LOVE that horn! It has such a nice sound, and for such a big instrument, it really has a great response! The low end is so open and responsive, yet the high end is resonant and full. It has a very nice balance and I'm glad I bought it.