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I once owned one of the CCs for nearly 40 years. It was a love-hate deal. While the sound was great, it did not slot well, the intonation was all over the place so you were pulling slides constantly, the string action was not all that smooth, and the lead pipe was awkwardly angled so if you wanted it on your lap it would just slide between your legs. I tried for all that time to love the beast, but I finally gave in and bought a piston BAT. Just about all those issues went away, and I am not inclined to reinvest in another. A BBb piston King, that is another matter. So those who have a romance with one of these, well, best wishes!!!.and... Happy Honeymoon!!! So much for reputation.

The difference between the King CC rotary tubas and the BBb ones are 'night and day'. I would gladly stand corrected but I don't think there were any of the CC variety built with a .750" bore.

The CC ones have a .688" bore. Intonation is less that spectacular although the timbre is great.

I think the BBb ones are good players. I currently own a King 1291 and enjoy playing it when I feel like lugging a 'monster' horn around!

The condition looks a little rough dent-wise. For nearly $4k I would think it would be dent-free...but maybe that's just me...

Dan.
It surprised me too, but there is a fellow in Michigan, who has or had a large King CC rotary. A friend used it sometime back and said it was awesome, very much like a 6/4. I hesitate to name names here without permission. If your care to follow up on that one - just PM.

Side note -- if there was such a thing as a GREAT American made rotary CC tuba, I'd love to have one. I've always had hopes that an American company might make one again, but I think that's highly doubtful.

My 1291 is an astonishing instrument. For at least a couple folks, it's asked for specifically for some works. The BBC instrument was very similar to mine, though I didn't have my main mouthpiece with me in Jan. when I tried it.

As rare as these are, how inexpensive would you think they'd be?

YMMV

J.c.S.

One interesting thing is that the hue of the bell doesn't match the instrument exactly. Is that not the original bell?

These Kings came in many different finishes. Could the instrument be their "gold lacquer" and the bell be the "clear" variety?

.

It looks more like the bell was refinished at some point after a repair.