TubeNet

King BBb Monster rotary with just a few minor tweaks.
Jake had me get him one. Maybe a shame Dan Heeren needed a good axe as if Jake had used it with the CSO as he had planned the whole CC VS BBb debate might have gone differently.

Good thinking, Wade. That could be a good product.

There was a lot of variation in quality with the Holtons. I often used Jakes, rather than cart my tuba for lessons. Once I had played it a few times its "quirks" didn't bother me. It just became a thing of switching from my King BBb to Holton CC and became pretty well a non issue.

The little Martin EEb I'm currently rebuilding has the sort of plating and engraving you mention. It presents some challenges since the bell has been worked on a LOT in its almost 100 years.

Those King rotary CCs that Abe Torchinsky and Joe Novotny(?) played. I've never seen one up close - don't even know for sure if they had 4 valves (which I suspect) or 5. But this time around, 5 for sure.

Martin Mammoth...maybe add a 5th valve and adapt it to CC. Can you tell I'm hooked?

Piston Helicons
Cerveny tornister tuba
Tornister baritones

CC: Alex 163 or Miraphone 186, early 60's

F: B&S Symphonie, late 70's to early 80's

Bring back the Marzan style top facing tuning slide!

The Holton 345 4+1 with a York bell and bottom bow in BBb (and what the heck, an Eb version just for kicks).

Big Conns usually leave me unimpressed. But this one was at the Army Tuba workshop and I really liked it because it just felt so comfortable!
http://www.dillonmusic.com/p-18785-conn-wonder.aspx
I wonder if they made them with 4 pistons?
Whoever designed that horn clearly cared about making the instrument fit the player, which is something we don't see very often today.

My vote is for the Holton 345 in both b flat and cc, modeled after a few exceptional examples to minumize quirks. I think there is a real niche market for these horns. My second choice would be for Conn Donatelli's in B flat, CC, and E flat, and tweaked to modern standards of pitch. But I don't expect that there is any market to support this.

So what would be the major difference between that little Russki-video tuba and a new 'Bubbie'?

Dennis

Grooving for Heaven wrote:for fun I just told my wife to listen to this recording (not watch) and guess at the kind of tuba being used. She said "large sousaphone", which is a pretty good guess

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXQENMn6GYI" target="_blank" target="_blank

those tornister tubas are amazing!

That horn really produced the sound My wife said she thought it was a sousy..There looked like there was a lot of tubing there...That mike was pretty good...When I get my new 6/4(new to me<s>) I think that mike might make my neighbors love me more exspecially since all they have heard is the little 3J <s>

I briefly owned and played an old King, rotary valved CC tuba. If it could be brought back with extensive accoustical research and development to improve the bad intonation quirks I would be interested in having one. I love the sound and the ergonomics of the rotary valve finger levers. Mr. Torchinsky told me that there were only about 1 dozen King CC's made and that he thought that his King was the best example of the dozen. Their playing characteristics varied radically. Mr. Torchinsky was the man that first sent his tuba back to King to have the 3rd valve plumbing re-routed so that he could reach it with his left hand. The intonation on his tuba required that he adjust both the first and third valve slides while playing.

Bohland & Fuchs BBb 4/4 and 5/4 Kaiser models with R&D for improved intonation & response. Same for the old Kruspe BBb's