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I am considering a purchase of a new, used Eb tuba. I have tried one of the new John Packers and found the sound poor and it was impossible to hold. The distance from the bottom bow to the mouthpiece needs to be 21 inches or slightly more for me to rest the tuba on my thigh and not bend my neck in an awkward position to play. I do not want to have to carry a pillow with me just to play. Some of the Eb tubas are advertised as having a Fletcher lead pipe. Are the Fletchers the short ones that need a pillow?
Blessings,

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, check these out:

Besson 981 with Fletcher Leadpipe -


Besson 981 with Normal Leadpipe -

I have a very good - nearly new - Schiller Jinbao - available here in NJ. I bought it, dusted off my e-flat fingerings and have never used it. PM me for photos if you're interested. It plays well; the only I changed were the valve springs, and I still have the originals if you want them.

Mark Heter

Hm. Was Fletcher extremely short? From the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK58EE5b4qc the way he holds his horn looks fairly normal, though his leadpipe seems to be bent upward quite a bit.

I knew John very well. Back in the 70 and 80s we would connect once or twice each year, either in the states, the UK or somewhere on the continent.
He was not short but seemed about 5'11" or there about. His upper torso was not necessarily long. Just a very normal looking guy, albeit the hair. I recall on one case, PJBE were in Madison, WI and his lead pipe was bent upward from transit. There was not sufficient funds to ship the horn in an airplane case so his gig bag had to do.Thus the damage. He played the entire PJBE tour with the horn in that condition. He sounded fantastic as usual. But as I remember, he held the horn on his lap and with the way he tilted the bell both outward and to his right, the mp lined up quite well with his chops. He did use a Conn 2 and it did not enter the receiver as far as on an American tuba so there was a tad more length. I'm not sure if the modern clone or Besson Sovereign is quite the same as was his Besson Imperial. So there may be some discrepancy between what we have today and what he actually had in his hands. Just a few recollections.
And BTW his other mouthpiece was the 24AW, which he normally used on the Holton 6/4CC and the Rudy 5/4. Another anecdote. In 1972 the LSO was in Ames, Iowa with Previn at the helm. Somehow his Conn 2 was stuck in the Holton, so he did the whole LSO tour with his two mps in opposite horns. He still popped out Benvenuto Cellini with a certain aplomb that was characteristic of his playing. Previn, Denis Wick, Fletcher and I had lunch at the Holiday Inn the next day and all I heard was superlatives on John's playing. It was like dining with the gods. Fun!!!

Standard Jinbao Eb tubas all have the Fletcher low leadpipe.

The Wessex Champion and Symphonic exclusively have higher Leadpipe similar to the Besson, but with the added enhancement of floating off the bell. Playing wise I genuinely believe they are better than most expensive brands. One professional to recently try could not believe how good the intonation saying Wessex had achieved better than he had ever come across before.



Playing with a lower Fletcher Leadpipe Besson 981 in the past caused me severe neck pains. I always advise customers against the Fletcher Leadpipe, although some people seem to like.

I have a Besson 784 Eb tuba with a lower lead pipe. It is comfortable to me (I am about 184 cm tall - ehh... about 6 feet 2 inches).

bloke wrote:I
...so - as those 'pipes are obviously shorter - does the tuning slide (on the version with the low/shorter mouthpipe) require an inch-or-so more pull, or is the bugle subtly lengthened somewhere else?

(Maybe no one knows for certain...and that's as good an answer as any.)

The pipes are no different in length, but on the Fletcher goes further around the bell

Thank you all for the information and especially the photos. Isn't it amazing that different manufacturers do things differently and there are no standard dimensions. No wonder is so hard to buy a tuba without sitting down and trying it out.
Additional information about me. I am 66 almost 67 years old, 6ft tall, self taught tuba player, play once a week at local nursing homes, I play the melody line to the old hymns. Currently I am using a 1909 Martin 3+1 Eb old US Navy horn. Leaks water like a sieve, It is getting tired looking, lots of dents, and I would like something new and "shiny". Silver is my color choice.
We have gone to our local tuba dealer and tried out the John Packer JP277L. I just did not like it. Had to hold it up, too short to sit in my lap. It obviously had a Fletcher type lead pipe.
Thanks again for all the replies and interest. I will keep on hunting for the Eb tuba that is right for me, hopefully one that I can sit down and try out before I purchase. I am willing to either drive or take the train to look at tubas.
Blessings

Dustytuba wrote:I will keep on hunting for the Eb tuba that is right for me, hopefully one that I can sit down and try out before I purchase. I am willing to either drive or take the train to look at tubas.
Blessings

Sent you a PM.

The high/low leadpipe used to be high volume for the lower (concert one) and low volume for the imperial style high one.

The Fletcher leadpipe however was a lo-low volume one.......so.
No one really provide a Fletcher leadpipe, just the Fletcher bend/style

My B&H Imperial had the high lead pipe and then I put on a 981 low pipe which was also a larger bore and larger receiver. It was too low to play comfortable, so I had a Stewart Stand mounted on the horn and it works incredibly well.