Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

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tylerferris1213
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Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by tylerferris1213 »

Hey everyone! I was talking with someone today who mentioned that Arnold Jacobs owned a 3 valve Martin Mammoth with a recording bell. Can anyone give me more information? Google doesn't seem to be helping.
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by tylerferris1213 »

I looked through Tubenet, but I couldn't find anything specific. Maybe I'm just not searching correctly.
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by imperialbari »

It is too late here for me browsing through threads, but the search Kiltie mentions could be set up like this:

site:Chisham.com arnold jacobs owned martin mammoth

(paste this into the address line of your browser)
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by Tabor »

February 14, 2005.
brianf wrote:Don't know about the Alex's but I know he never played the Martin - it was just collecting dust in his basement until the day I pulled it out. He was quite happy to get it outta there commenting "I never played it anyway." This is the case of a horn that passed through someone's possesion but not used very much, it at all.

The horn I have always been curious about was the old Dehmel that Reiner brought back from Vienna. Legend said it was thrown in Lake Michigan, Mr Jacobs said no but he hid it in a good place in Orchestra Hall - so good that it has not been found even during the rehabs of the 60's and 90's. We stck a pix of him with that horn in the slide show at the tribute (Gene and myself wanted it to be our last laugh at Arnold). A few weeks later I got a call from someone claiming he owned the horn.

Always wanted to get the beast, flatten it under a steamroller, frame it and give it to him for a Christmas present. He waould have loved it!
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by The Big Ben »

lost wrote:E-mail lee stofer who apparently sold a 3 valve martin mammoth owned by AJ. It disappeared from the site, so one can only assume it sold. Bout a year and a half ago maybe.
Judging by the posted recollections of AJ's opinion of the Martin, what kind of provenance would an instrument have which could be described as "Arnold Jacobs hated this horn and refused to play it"? Would such a description add to its value?
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by Tabor »

The Big Ben wrote:Judging by the posted recollections of AJ's opinion of the Martin, what kind of provenance would an instrument have which could be described as "Arnold Jacobs hated this horn and refused to play it"? Would such a description add to its value?
I doubt he hated how it played. It isn't the notorious vienna system f tuba. More likely, he never selected an upright 3 valve Martin recording tuba when his main axe was front action, he had access to all shapes and styles of tubas, and Holton building stuff for him.
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by brianf »

A lot of horns passed through Mr Jacobs! A Martin like this ended up in his basement. A York E Flat someone dumped on him with three pitted valves ended up in his studio. Did he ever play them? I doubt it. I own a G-50 that was in his studio that he definitely played but not with the CSO. There was a big Holton B Flat that he did play with the CSO then sold. Here are four horns Jacobs owned with different pedigrees. Can you say it was owned by Jacobs if it just collected dust and he never played it? How about horns he did play, in concert or just in the studio? A can of worms!

In my old post I mentioned the Dahmel. The mystery was solved a few years ago when it was found at Northwestern. It got close to Lake Michigan but never got thrown in the lake!
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by The Big Ben »

Tabor wrote:
The Big Ben wrote:Judging by the posted recollections of AJ's opinion of the Martin, what kind of provenance would an instrument have which could be described as "Arnold Jacobs hated this horn and refused to play it"? Would such a description add to its value?
I doubt he hated how it played. It isn't the notorious vienna system f tuba. More likely, he never selected an upright 3 valve Martin recording tuba when his main axe was front action, he had access to all shapes and styles of tubas, and Holton building stuff for him.
Point is, if Jacobs never used a horn but let it sit in his basement for tens of years, does it make it any better than others to say, "Arnold Jacobs owned this"? Sellers frequently seem to think so.
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by Donn »

What does make a tuba "better"?
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by Donn »

So. Having conflated monetary value with excellence, and from there having traveled into the realm of platitude to reserve all excellence for the player, ...
we can return out of the other end of the amusement ride tunnel knowing that tubas have value only as collector items, and association with Arnold Jacobs should serve that purpose even if he only cared to use it as a lawn ornament.
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by MartyNeilan »

lost wrote:E-mail lee stofer who apparently sold a 3 valve martin mammoth owned by AJ. It disappeared from the site, so one can only assume it sold. Bout a year and a half ago maybe.
After leaving Mr. Jacobs, the "Handcraft" martin mammoth wound up at Baltimore Brass. I bought it from them circa 2003-2004, and it included a letter or receipt stating that it was once owned by AJ. The horn was beyond filthy but I had BBC chem clean it before shipping. Despite worn plating on the pistons and a severe dent in the smaller of the two top bows, the horn was one of the best tubas I ever owned. A mouthpiece along the lines of a Conn2 worked well - medium funnel. Three valves were more than enough as the first and third slides were easily pulled with my hand underneath, pitch very bendable, and false tones were outstanding. I even used it on tour my senior year with Lee University where I played the Jim Curnow trumpet solo "Concertpiece" with their symphonic band. However as graduation approached I realized I had little use for a three valve top action recording bell tuba, and sold it to Lee Stofer. He pulled the big dent and it became an even better horn. The engraving on the Handcraft bell was copied and used as the template for the Kanstul reproduction bells. I believe Lee sold it to a collector in Florida, last I heard.
If I played regularly in a concert band, or anything similar, that would be the ultimate tuba. Not exactly a quintet or community orchestra horn (outdoor pops concerts being a possible exception).
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by Ken Herrick »

I suspect it could be the instrument he used to carry in the trunk of his big Buick Electra in mid 60's. He used it as grounds for claiming a tax deduction for mileage for driving to and from work instead of riding a train. Being a bulky instrument not amenable for carrying on public transport made claiming an acceptable deduction in the eyes of the IRS. Of course he didn't tell uncle sam that he did not actually use it for work. He told me all about this ploy but I never got a good look at the instrument in question.
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Re: Info Needed: Arnold Jacobs Owned a Martin Mammoth?

Post by Alex C »

Tabor wrote:February 14, 2005.
brianf wrote:Don't know about the Alex's but I know he never played the Martin - it was just collecting dust in his basement until the day I pulled it out. He was quite happy to get it outta there commenting "I never played it anyway." This is the case of a horn that passed through someone's possesion but not used very much, it at all.

The horn I have always been curious about was the old Dehmel that Reiner brought back from Vienna. Legend said it was thrown in Lake Michigan, Mr Jacobs said no but he hid it in a good place in Orchestra Hall - so good that it has not been found even during the rehabs of the 60's and 90's. We stck a pix of him with that horn in the slide show at the tribute (Gene and myself wanted it to be our last laugh at Arnold). A few weeks later I got a call from someone claiming he owned the horn.

Always wanted to get the beast, flatten it under a steamroller, frame it and give it to him for a Christmas present. He waould have loved it!
Jake told me that a student bought a Dehmel "just like his" and suffered the same frustration most people have with those horns. THIS was the horn thrown in to Lake Michigan off Navy Pier. He said the young man poured dry concrete mix into the bell and heaved the horn off the pier. That's the story he told me as best as I can remember it.

I bought a Scherzer F with the Vienna set up before I started taking lessons with him. I brought it into two lessons, which is what prompted him to tell me the tales. Later on, I had the valve tubing cut and shifted by a Czech repairman named Jiri who worked in a music store off of Golf Road, N. Milwaukee Ave I think. The tubing was moved around so that there was 1-2-3 in the right hand and some other configuration in the left. I sold the horn and felt guilty about getting money for it. I saw that horn, still being used in the mid-1980's.
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