TubeNet

Tubenet nation:

I have a Besson Compensating Euph with a HOLE IN THE BELL. Do I just make the bell as pretty as possible and slap an attractive patch on (as attractive as a patch can be, I suppose) or do I shell out the cash for a new bell?

Help me!

If the hole isn't too large... why can't you braze it up yourself?

After Harvey Phillips had his old Conn overhauled and silver-plated I saw one or two small round patches on the bell. They were about the size of a nickel, and were very neatly done. The horn was still beautiful, and he sounded just as great as ever.

A local student had a new lacquered tuba which sustained some bell damage in school. It was expertly smoothed out by a local repairman. As far as I could tell, the lacquer was undamaged, and you could hardly see that it had been damaged and repaired.

Then the student decided to spring for a new bell anyway, which was expertly installed. I really admired the workmanship, which was far beyond my own limited ability. It looked like new at first, but now there are small but very visible bands of un-lacquered brass around the places which were soldered.

Patch. A relatively small patch should have little or no effect on the sound.

If the instrument sounds good with that hole temporarily fixed with tape, then keep the bell. Whether a small patch or brazing harms its resonance properties the least is beyond my experiences.

Klaus