TubeNet

Hello TubeNet,

I searched and haven't seen much about his specific horn or even that definitive of information about it. So I thought I would post what I have.

I purchased this horn in September 2014. It has not been played much at all and pretty well taken care of for a 33 year old horn. It seems to be the horn that eventually became the 982.

19" Bell
4 valve comp
17.51-18.96 mm Bore

I am currently using a wick 2(no L) with it. Warm it is in-tune with about 1/4"-1/2" pull. I do not think I would do the fletcher-cut on it. I plan to cut off the ball and the carriage rings.

Questions:
Case - I have a protec medium I will try after I cut the ball off. I would like a better hard case, I don't like the wood one it came with. I have a local source for SKB, and was wondering if people had experience with these types of horns and SKB. I plan on getting a "good-enough" "flight-case". Basically something that will handle under an airplane good enough. I will fly with it once every 2-3 years.

Mouthpiece - I do not like wide round rims. I would prefer not to modify. With that in mind, what available mouthpieces would have a narrow, 32-33 mm opening, with a flat profile and would be suited to the horn. It is my "bass" tuba, I use it in wind bands and brass band.

Pictures: (I am a bad photographer, sorry. Will try again if this is a popular thread)

more pictures

I have had lots of experience with this model tuba and of this vintage in particular.
It looks in great condition - enjoy! - but I really think you should consider the 'Parker Cut' - above the stave the notes will almost certainly fall flat - especially using a Wick 2 small barrel (my choice of mouthpiece being a Wick 2L). I used to have to play the high Eb with all four valves down!
As a conductor and soloist I've visited many bands that have B&H tubas of this vintage through the years and have advised the cut - I had it done on my own 1976 Sovereign prototype back in the day - it certainly needed it!
It's a good tuba - the Parker Cut will make it even better.
All the best.
(if only I knew how to do it I would put a photo on here of the prototype for anyone interested!)

You have a grat horn here. But you wil have a even better horn with the Fletcher/Parker Cut

I have a newer/old Besson Sovereign Hardcase on it and i use a Conn Helleberg 7b mouthpice

Here is a picture of mine who is currently for sale in Norway Here you can see the Fletcher/Parker Cut

If it's that well in tune with a Denis Wick 2, you probably don't need to cut it; This of course depends on the pitch adopted by your ensemble, as some orchestras tune well above A440. I believe Fletcher aimed at A446, so he could tune with the fiddles with a reasonable pull, but still have room to allow for temperature variations.

I can't be sure, but from your photos the length of the back bow compared with the position of the brace on the fourth valve tubing suggests that it may well have been cut already; there is also a brace missing between the back-bow and the bell which (assuming this was not a late design change) may have been removed when the cut was performed - on my own 1980 model the brace was moved higher up the bow, but that brace may not be totally necessary, and there's always a chance that moving a brace might deaden a node, so some people may not put the brace back on when doing the cut.

Congratulations on acquiring a beautiful horn; some people regard this as the greatest tuba ever designed (BAT owners, slide pullers, and front-action enthusiasts tend not to agree).

Bloke has mentioned on here that a Standard bore Yamaha receiver is a drop-in replacement for the Small-Euro receiver you currently have (the Advanced search feature should turn up the info), allowing you a much bigger choice of mouthpieces. One or two other owners have mentioned replacing the mouthpipe with a 981 mouthpipe, which some say will open up the bottom end dramatically, and help smoothe the timbre at extreme ffff dynamics (to be fair, others say they noticed no improvement). If you go that route, the ferrule at the valve-block end of the mouthpipe is conical on the Imp, but cylindrical on the 981, so getting a new ferrule when you get the mouthpipe will save a lot of fiddling.