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I saw it, but could not stop drooling over that goldbrass Alex CC. Barring that distraction, this King is a great looking tuba!

That is a really huge bass tuba. How was this used back in the day? Nowadays people think of bass tuba as the "solo" or "chamber" horn, but this could probably be a good large ensemble horn as well.

The valves occur so late in the bore that it is effectively a small bore horn once you mash a few... regardless of the bell size!

I used this identical bell, bottom bow, top branch and next branch to make an Eb (if I'm not mistaken, the first three are the components Matt Walters used in designing the Conn 5x series, as well as the new Kings). You're right: the original valve set is pretty narrow, so needs something larger to make it credible. I've used this Eb on all Tchaikovsky symphonies, Bruckner 4, and a variety of 'heavy' repertoire.

I wish some manufacturer would start making these big 'ol 20" "pancake" bells again. The sound is to die for!

Beautiful old tuba. Bet it has a sound to match it's looks This King Monster Eb looks a little taller than most Monster Eb's out there.
I've found that if you put more modern leadpipes and receivers on these Monster Eb tubas and do a little slide tube cutting/alteration, the intonation & response improve, making these tubas manageable.

This is certainly a nice looking horn but I'm not sure if that's the original bell. If you look closely, you can see a leadpipe scar most likely from a BBb top action. I could be wrong without seeing it up close.

UncleBeer wrote:I used this identical bell, bottom bow, top branch and next branch to make an Eb (if I'm not mistaken, the first three are the components Matt Walters used in designing the Conn 5x series, as well as the new Kings). You're right: the original valve set is pretty narrow, so needs something larger to make it credible. I've used this Eb on all Tchaikovsky symphonies, Bruckner 4, and a variety of 'heavy' repertoire.

I wish some manufacturer would start making these big 'ol 20" "pancake" bells again. The sound is to die for!

Have you got a picture?

Looks nice; probably have to play low D 234...

(In terms of looks at least) it would complement my Holton/King BBb. I've already got an Eb though...

Tubajug wrote:Have you got a picture?

Nice looking tuba!!
Mark

Timswisstuba wrote:This is certainly a nice looking horn but I'm not sure if that's the original bell. If you look closely, you can see a leadpipe scar most likely from a BBb top action. I could be wrong without seeing it up close.

This ^

The valve section and leadpipe look like that of a 1235 with an additional tuning slide added after the valveset to make up for the shorter bell.

Nice horn UncleBeer! What did you use for a valveset?

Tubajug wrote:Nice horn UncleBeer! What did you use for a valveset?

Thanks! Valve set off my HB2P (never did like that horn )

I purchased this horn about a month ago. The serial # places it 1938 - 1939. According to the King website it is a King 1236 BELL FRONT Symphony Eb (the way the tubing is wrapped is different from the Monster). The current bell however is from a king Monster Eb (pistons on top) that is why you see the leadpipe scar. According to Matt Walters the horn played so flat when he got it it was almost a D tuba. He changed the bell and WOW it plays in tune now! The C on the staff is a little flat with the 1,2 but tunes nicely with 1,4. The low register is nice and full, pedal notes speak very well. The cash register is nice and full. The horn apparently sat around for most of its life as the valves look brand new. My guess is that since it played so flat no one wanted to play it and then the Eb's fell out of favor in the 60's, 70's and 80's. What amazes me is that it got missed in all the scrapping of brass for WWII. This horn has seen a lot and been very lucky. Would love to hear the stories it could tell.

p.s. Can someone explain how to insert a picture, or point me to the thread that does? I searched but did not find it.

How to post pics from our own webmaster--use a free site like 'photobucket', etc. as a site host for pics:

<blockquote>
Picture posting instructions
1. Host picture somewhere else.
2. Copy and paste URL in TubeNet post
3. Put [img]before%20the%20URL%20and[/img] after the URL
4. Preview the post before committing to double check your work.
5. edit as needed to correct your mistakes.
</blockquote>
sean chisham

Any ideas on a mouthpiece for this horn? .683(?) bore Eb tuba with an American standard shank lead pipe. I have tried a Bach 18 and a Yamaha Jim Self. I have a Shilke Helleberg II, a Miraphone 23 and a Miraphone Rose Orchestra also to try but so far they all seem a little too big and lack focus. I have played a BBb Yamaha YBB641 for the past 26 years and only Bb horns before that (Conn 20J and Besson 222, various trombones and euphoniums) so the Eb is a different ball game. I am having a ball playing it and learning that C is 1,2 not 1 or 1,3. LOL

I'd also spend a little time with your SHII plugged into it. That might just do the trick.