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But one may easily find a string bass with a soundboard made of pressed laminated softwood. Nuance of tonal color is not as critical to the purpose of a string bass, or perhaps a tuba.

Which are the very few tubas today made out of sheet metal?

Some of the halo models of the big names are handmade...and maybe, just maybe, the common Cerveny? they do at least still have their weights down very low.

There'll be a Chinese sheet metal tuba here shortly....

I want to see bells/tubing machined out of chunks of steel or titanium. Like, take a tube of stainless steel and turn it on a lathe to make a straight tapered body tubing section. I know a guy with a mill big enough to turn a 16" diameter object. There is a local machine shop that could easily machine all the parts needed for constructing a tuba from solid blocks of steel, probably at a lower price than a quality German/U.S. made horn.

I wouldn't call it the end of an era. Though B&S/Buffet and Miraphone don't build many tubas that way, other makers do. Cerveny as above, plus Alexander, Gronitz, Adams, Hirsbrunner, Kanstul, and Rudolph Meinl, maybe others.

-F

bloke wrote:I guess I wish that more of the easier-to-play-in-tune tubas offered that option.

That's the price of manufacturing consistency.

What is the process for making the manufactured tubing? I know the sheet metal process, but not the other one.

Also,I was just trying to mention the fact that the more handmade a tuba is, the more error and variation are introduced.

Bloke,

You said, "Sheet metal tubas are shaped in molds in the same way that manufactured-tubing tubas are. It's just that sheet metal tubas end up with a more consistent thickness of material and a typically thinner wall." You also strongly implied that it is better. Are you now saying that the material makes a difference in how it plays and it is not just the size and shape of the inside?

I'm surprised no one has brought up 3D printing....which would be very precise, for the body. The valves, hmmm...can you 3D print valves that work?

3D printing is essentially useless for manufacturing:
1) too slow/low volume
2) unacceptable tolerances/accuracy
3) unacceptable finished surface

3D printing *might* eventually overcome those issues but we are many years away from it making sense for anything other than rough prototyping or one off concepts.

kmorgancraw wrote:There'll be a Chinese sheet metal tuba here shortly....

I had a chance to play the York (Wessex) prototype back in August. For its size (6/4) it was remarkably light about 17/18 pounds, where as its cousin the Wyvern a 5/4 is @25 pounds. Its bell, bow and large branches were hand hammered. The weight differential is basically due to the hand hammering, hence resulting in thinner metal.

Translate that into how does it differ in playing: well there was not an identical "factory" model to compare. That being said, it was extremely responsive in all registers. It was very easy to color the sound. It responded (for me) best with a pretty middle size MP like a H2, Monette 94, or Stofer/Geib. It just sang with what I put into it. Very large MPs seemed to be counter productive as the tuba itself had the necessary gravitas and presence.

Whether it is simply the very carefully designed taper from leadpipe to bell, or the hand hammered sheet metal, the result was a most impressive instrument. This was not a simple clone of the original York, (yes it started out with that in mind) but there have been several, not so obvious modifications that all seem to contribute to a very fine piece of design and workmanship.

This comes back to Wessex's continuous visits to the JB factory in China and their almost obsession with research and design, and also inspiring the craftsmen at JB to step up to yet a higher level than the competition.

I doubt that it will be practical to have every tuba hand made, but those at the high end certainly deserve the best possible attention.

Just my 2 cents.

I believe the Adams Custom tubas are made from sheet metal. I know the rest of their brasses are. It's part of their philosophy of horn design. It surely works well for my Adams euphonium!

bort wrote:What is the process for making the manufactured tubing? I know the sheet metal process, but not the other one.

I haven't found anything to say for certain, but I believe brass tubing is made the same way copper tubing is made. The metal-working properties are very similar.
Here's a written explanation for copper: https://www.copper.org/publications/new ... _tube.html
There's a How it's Made video for copper pipe fittings that shows the initial tube making process (from billet to tube) at about the 3:19 mark (before showing how they re-shape that tube to make T fittings) - https://youtu.be/uk8PLBAfmpM?t=3m19s
The How It's Made video for King tubas shows them drawing the brass tube down to the correct dimension at about the 4:44 mark - https://youtu.be/1kfdxvNXIyk?t=4m44s

...Hertz rental car commercial has a guy with a sousaphone in New Orleans in it,...

Love this old commercial, but darned if I can find a sousaphone in it.
BTW Bloke, I agree with you on Hertz, they're great. Now how do I get in on whatever kickback you're getting?

Donn wrote:But one may easily find a string bass with a soundboard made of pressed laminated softwood. Nuance of tonal color is not as critical to the purpose of a string bass, or perhaps a tuba. Which are the very few tubas today made out of sheet metal?

Yes, I used to own a "plywood" bass that I played in local jazz bands. We preferred them because they were not as susceptible to temperature and humidity variations as a good carved bass, so they traveled better to gigs and stayed in tune better throughout the gig. Yes, many jazz, bluegrass, rock-a-billy, etc., performers actually prefer the plywood basses for these reasons, especially since most are indeed amplified, usually with a transducer in the bridge run through the appropriate preamp and either to an amp or direct to board, not relying on the natural resonance of the instrument.

Most of the nationally known boutiques have their version of a plywood bass, which, of course, is much less expensive than a carved bass.

You can make one yourself: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To- ... ight-Bass/" target="_blank

Some players like the sound of a plywood bass. Between the examples I've played, I sure did - that's not saying much more than, solid isn't guaranteed to be better than plywood. Just like, I suppose, hand hammered bottom bows aren't guaranteed to make a good tuba, or even an eyebrow raising tuba.