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Is any company currently manufacturing a "French" C tuba? Couesnon has some saxhorns listed but they are 4 valve and pretty inexpensive. Anyone making a pro quality one, 6 valve, esp with the traditional 3rd valve? Or, anyone have one for sale?

No, they are no longer made and are pretty hard to find. I spoke with an individual at the 2012 ITEC who has one and he spent nearly 2 years looking for one and had to drive 400 miles to buy his. Every once and a while they show up on the European eBay.

eupher61 wrote:Is any company currently manufacturing a "French" C tuba? Couesnon has some saxhorns listed but they are 4 valve and pretty inexpensive. Anyone making a pro quality one, 6 valve, esp with the traditional 3rd valve? Or, anyone have one for sale?

If they are already inexpensive, why not ask for a quote for making a 6 valve version?

bort wrote:If they are already inexpensive, why not ask for a quote for making a 6 valve version?

At least the real thing has the virtue of being the real thing. If they were especially desirable for tuba playing purposes, wouldn't they still be around in one form or another?

Otherwise... hey Wessex! Here's another old-style instrument to resurrect!

bort wrote:Otherwise... hey Wessex! Here's another old-style instrument to resurrect!

Now yer talkin!

I bet they'd sell as many of them as they do ophicleide reproductions or 'travel tubas''.

UncleBeer wrote:

bort wrote:Otherwise... hey Wessex! Here's another old-style instrument to resurrect!

Now yer talkin!

I bet they'd sell as many of them as they do ophicleide reproductions or 'travel tubas''.

Maybe more -- the ultimate Bydlo horn? Come on, every player who needs to audition for anything would need one!

I have a 3+2 valve de Prins Saxhorn basse en Si bémol with a major third in the 3rd valve and a plain semitone in the 5th valve.

Theoretically the long 3rd valve may make sense, but if one has been raised with the normal length of the 3 first valves, then it is next to impossible to incorporate the long 3rd valve into a fully intuitive handling of fingerings. Especially if one still plays instruments with normal slide lengths.

The plain semitone in the fifth valve is a silly joke and a leftover from the 3+3 valve French tuba. There it was intended as a transposition valve facilitating sharp keys. The idea was that the fingerings in A major should be (relative to scale step) the same as in Bb major. One only had to hold the semitone valve down. The result of course is that when all valves are pressed the pitch will be about a quarter step (50 cents) sharp. I pull that 5th slide as much as possible to approach a long semitone to be used together with the long 3rd valve.

Klaus

bort wrote: Maybe more -- the ultimate Bydlo horn? Come on, every player who needs to audition for anything would need one!

Also think: any Berlioz, Mendelssohn and other repertoire as well.