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This tuba is 117 cm/46.063 inches high, 23 mm/.90553 inches bore, 56 cm/22.05 inches bell diameter. Yes, the tuba is resting on the ground. The photo is upside-down to provide a better perspective. You can change your view 180 degrees if you wish to compare the height of the horn to the height of the gentleman standing next to it (his name and height have not been supplied with the photo).

This horn is larger than a current 6/4 Rudolf Meinl 6/4 BBb tuba. There is no clear indication by whom this instrument was built. Note its age from the mechanism on the rotors.

Who is the maker and what model is it?

Who owns the horn and in what town do they (the tuba and its owner) reside?

Thanks.

It looks like a 6/4 Rudolf Meinl BBb.

Bell diameter is the same. General valve slide layout is the same. Thumbring looks like RM too.

The last time I looked, RM still offered clock springs as an option. It may be less old than you think.

cjk wrote:It looks like a 6/4 Rudolf Meinl BBb.

Bell diameter is the same. General valve slide layout is the same. Thumbring looks like RM too.

cjk, all that you say is true. The bore and the bell diameter are virtually the same.

However, according to MDORVAL, who recently sold his 6/4 Rudy Meinl BBb tuba:

Model: RM 1 B 56 (5 Valves) Bell: 22 in. (560 mm) Bore: 0.9 in. (23 mm) Height: 43 in. (108 cm)

So the height of the horn in the photo above is considerably more than the 6/4 Rudy Meinl BBb.

cjk wrote:It looks like a 6/4 Rudolf Meinl BBb.

Bell diameter is the same. General valve slide layout is the same. Thumbring looks like RM too.

The last time I looked, RM still offered clock springs as an option. It may be less old than you think.

The tube coming out of the valve cluster at a 45° angle is definitely not Rudy ...
General valve slide layout is about the same for many of the German/ bavarian BBb tubas ... the 100 year old example hanging on my wall (the one in my avatar) has the same slide layout as my recent Rudy 4/4...

I've never seen a Rudy with a bell garland before. Ed

EdFirth wrote:I've never seen a Rudy with a bell garland before. Ed

They were more common in the past, see pictures from instruments that have been for sale in the past years.
But you can still order a new Rudy with bell garland if you want ...

That thing is too big. 1" bore? Who could play such a thing!

BTW, if I ever need a new bell for my Rudy, I'd like one with a kranz. If it doesn't change much else, it looks super cool.

bort wrote:That thing is too big. 1" bore? Who could play such a thing!

Anybody. Breath requirement is a function of the mouthpiece throat and backbore, and to a lesser extent the taper of the leadpipe. By the time the leadpipe gets to the valve block, velocity has essentially dropped to zero, therefore it is not a quantity of air issue, it is an efficiency issue with the proper placement of braces and proper geometry of the crooks.

The larger concern is that with the larger bore, taper of the bugle and diameter and flare of the bell, there is more mass of brass, and therefore heavier. The real question is whether or not the player's physique is in good enough shape to handle the larger, heavier instrument,

Steve, if you don't know the current whereabouts of this tuba, why are you certain of the accuracy of its measurements?

I know that when I have tried to measure the height of the same tuba several times, I have not always gotten the same answer every time.

Is the height number possibly in error?

Valid question, cjk.

I will ask the source of the photo and dimensions and then report back.

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