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As I do once in a while, I just picked up my 1905 3V TP York Monster Eb tuba and played it a bit.

Every time I do that I think: "I wish that I had a BBb horn that plays like this one.". I own several decent BBb tubas (King 1241, King 1258, King 1250, Cerveny 681, J. Low Kaiser, La Sete 4v, etc.) but when I pick up the old York it feels very different in good ways.

Currently I am struggling to become an acceptable bass player. So for those with more experience: Is there a BBb tuba that has similar characteristics (very easy to sound notes; huge voice; easy pedal tones and high notes)? Do the York 33's compare favorably with the old Monster Eb's?

Or does it (leaky valves and all) feel so different only because of its key/pitch range?

Thank you and yes I can see that, it looks exactly like my 3TP Eb right down to the "W" shaped main tuning slide. That ebay horn is about 1,000 newer than the serial number on mine. According to horn-u-copia both ca. 1905.

hrender wrote:Assuming you actually want to get a BBb, would this be a possible solution?

Thank you, Mr. Ortega brought that to my attention. As I mentioned, I own a few BBb tubas that are quite good in their own right as I'm sure this one is.

Now that I've been made aware of the "chicken" that laid my "egg' I am quite keen to try one of the BBb's that are so close to the geometry of the Eefer. OTOH now I wonder if the more rapid bugle flare contributes as much to the things I like about the monsters as it does to the "interesting" intonation characteristics.

Curmudgeon wrote:The York Eb monsters were actually adaptations of this tuba:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AWESOME-J-W-YOR ... 2a3cf78e44

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=61297

Interestingly, the braces on that York are the same as my Holton Monster Eb's. The big ferrules on that York look like King ferrules to me. Maybe they were swapped out during repair work?

tooba wrote:The big ferrules on that York look like King ferrules to me. Maybe they were swapped out during repair work?

When H. N. White started working with Thomas King, Sousa's #2 trombone player behind Prior, to develop King trombones, he lured F. A. Reynolds away from York to develop the valve brass instruments. So they very well could look similar. Even to the end, both King and Reynolds BBb tubas used a .68X (depending on the tooling of the day, I've seen Reynolds tuba bores advertised as 5, 6, 7, or 8 for the last digit, while King has consistently advertised .687), and sometimes, the valves would almost, if not quite, line up. Compare a King Master Model cornet to a Reynolds Contempora with the underslung main tuning slide and you have another pair of instruments that bear out the family resemblance.

So, if the York BBb is not available to try, I would try either a Reynolds Contempora tuba, since the OP has already stated he doesn't like the King, or if $$$ is available, one of the new Kanstul 33 tubas.

tooba wrote:Interestingly, the braces on that York are the same as my Holton Monster Eb's. The big ferrules on that York look like King ferrules to me. Maybe they were swapped out during repair work?

All of the details on this horn, including the ferrules, are identical to my 1905 3TP Eb Monster so I think that they are original.

I have a later (1917) 3FP Eb Monster and among other details like smaller bore, the ferrules are at least 1/4" narrower than those on the 3TP.

iiipopes wrote:So, if the York BBb is not available to try, I would try either a Reynolds Contempora tuba, since the OP has already stated he doesn't like the King, or if $$$ is available, one of the new Kanstul 33 tubas.

Don't get me wrong - I love the Kings as well as the Euro tubas that I own. But they play quite differently from my Yorks and I would love to try one of these BBb's that are so close to the Eb monsters.