I recently came into the possession of a nice Conn 4J BBb tuba. Seeing as I already own and play a Rudy Meinl CC tuba, I was wondering if it would be feasible to turn this BBb into a reasonable F tuba, and if so, how much would it cost? Also, how much would it cost to add a fifth valve, (probably thumb operated,)? Any reply would be appreciated.\
Thanks, Aaron "Tubafatness" Hynds
Conn 4J BBb transformation?
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Lew
- 5 valves
- Posts: 1669
- Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 4:57 pm
- Location: Annville, PA
I guess anything is feasible, but why? To do this would require finding some way to cut 6 feet of tubing from the main bugle, and then cutting down every tuning slide. Once you are done it is unlikely to play well anyway. The 4J is a decent BBb horn, and it is questionable whether it would be a decent F tuba.
This assumes that you are doing the work yourself. If you were paying someone else to do it, assuming you could find someone willing to take it on, you'd be much better off just selling the 4J and buying an F tuba. The cost would be more than it's worth.
This assumes that you are doing the work yourself. If you were paying someone else to do it, assuming you could find someone willing to take it on, you'd be much better off just selling the 4J and buying an F tuba. The cost would be more than it's worth.