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Anyone have any experiences playing a civil war era instrument or a civil war era tuba?

How does it compare to a modern tuba? Is it fun or good to play?

I played on them for a number of years. they can be fun to play. Much lighter than modern instruments. Quality ranges from very good to horrendous. To get a more authentic period sound, one should use a narrow mouthpiece ( I used a Wick 5 or 5L). Most are string action rotaries, some are Berliner pumpen valves ( a more primitive piston).

Hi-
A ContraBass Saxhorn, which is what the low voice would be in the C.W. Era, was in Eb. The Over The Shoulder ( OTS), Upright, Bell Front ( later than the C.W.—1876 Lehnert Centennial Tubas), and the Circular or Helicon shaped Contrabass voice were made of Brass or German Silver. Many had a bell ring or garland, and most of the valves were either String Rotary or Berliner Pumpen valves. The majority had only 3 valves, occasionally you had four. For OTS Tubas, there were regular size and extra large size. These instruments were conical, and produced a very mellow sound. Considering the tools and materials available, these 19th Century instrument makers were the ‘rocket scientists’ of their time. The American makers, especially the ones from New England, were highly skilled craftsmen. Both the North and South had bands, and there are many books, CDs, YouTube videos, etc. showing reinactment bands playing their instruments, so you can here the instruments and music that was used.
I highly recommend the book A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF CIVIL WAR ERA MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND MILITARY BANDS.

Here is a German Silver 3 string rotary upright Contrabass saxhorn in Eb, Presentation, made by Graves & Co., Boston, c. 1858, for the Lawrence Brass Band





Here is an Over The Shoulder Brass 3 Berliner Valve Contrabass Saxhorn in Eb, c. 1863, stenciled for the first music store in Buffalo, Sheppard Cottier & Co









Mark

I have played about 10 years in a CW Union band, Becks' Philadelphia Brigade Band. http://www.becksband.com" target="_blank" target="_blank
My horn is an Eb bass saxhorn made by Slater, NY in 1865. It is very lightweight and produces a very sweet, mellow sound in comparison to my Mirafone BBb. The period music is also a lot of fun to play, mostly because it is very different style playing from anything else I play.
These old horns are VERY mouthpiece-specific, though, so you need to try a lot of them to find a 'piece the horn likes. If you don't try to push through so much air as you would with a modern horn, you will find them easy to play well. Some old horns are very good players, some are just dogs, pretty much as are modern horns; they do take a bit of managing intonation quirks.

I spent 9 years in the 8th Georgia Regiment band. I played a Hall & Quinby saxhorn most of the time, and a solid nickel-silver Lehnert for about a year and a half. The first horn was finicky as all get-out; it was difficult to keep working mechanically and took a lot of finessing to get into tune. If it was not for repair wizards and old horn buffs Lee Stofer and Rich Ita, we would have been in serious trouble. The second was fairly well in tune and had a huge, dark tone. It was a joy to play. I went through a ton of mouthpieces with them, and strangely enough, the one mouthpiece that worked best with them was a Wick 3.

The music for these bands is fascinating and can be quite demanding. Handling the old instruments is also quite demanding. Some play as well as modern instruments, but most have challenges in intonation and response that are unique to their age.

If any Tubenetters have their own C.W. Tuba or use one from a band, post a pic with details about the horn....
Mark