Old Martin Tuba Questions

[marking]

New member.
Long time lurking - First time posting.
I hadn't played for years until quitting smoking. My grade school trumpet's small mouthpiece seemed too big a hurdle so I started looking for some low brass which I played in Jr. High, Highschool and one year in college. Craigslist led me to a $40 Besson baritone. I started playing with a small informal brass group in my small town but really wanted a tuba. Do you guys realize how much these things cost??

I came across an old Martin Eb 3+1 at an antique store for $195 (The tag said "Pre Civil War"). So much dull tarnish I swore somebody had spray painted it gray. It came with a mismatched full sized mouthpiece which was difficult to play higher notes. The local H.S. band director suggested a 1 1/2G bass trombone mouthpiece. I acquire the plastic Kelly version and it is much better. The main tuning slide has to be fully pushed in to be in tune, so I assume is a low pitch model.

The serial # (16673) and the engraving ("The Martin...) put this horn from approx. 1916. It also is engraved "USN" which I understand means it was a US Navy band.

Any additional information would be greatly appreciated. Did Martin horns of this era have model names? Mouthpiece recommendations?

Thank You

[SousaWarrior9]

Great find indeed, congrats!

[marking]

Mine has the 17" bell. "Renowned" - Good to know!! It would be cool to see an old catalog if there's one out there somewhere.

If I were to have the horn shortened, I assume the valve slides have to be trimmed also? I play at a very casual level, so I'm not sure about putting this old thing under the knife.

[SousaWarrior9]

Mine has the 17" bell. "Renowned" - Good to know!! It would be cool to see an old catalog if there's one out there somewhere.

If I were to have the horn shortened, I assume the valve slides have to be trimmed also? I play at a very casual level, so I'm not sure about putting this old thing under the knife.

A couple catalogs that feature the Eb horns are on this website:
https://www.saxophone.org/museum/public ... cturer/55/" target="_blank

[marking]

Thank you very much for the link to the old Martin catalogs!

In the 1916 and 1922 catalogs I didn't see any reference to a "Renowned" line, so I guess my horn is a "Medium" (what a let down).

I thinks its interesting that the 1916 price is not far off of what I bought it for! Although, an online inflation calculator puts the 1916 price at $3000+ in 2019 dollars

[Liberty Mo]

I picked one up a few years ago from Craigslist for $200, it was badly tarnished, and dirty, a tub of Wright’s Silver Cream and a few hours later it was a wonderful

[marking]

Very nice! Mine has cleaned up nicely, but can't get all the nooks and crannies

[daktx2]

Very cool horn! With that odd bass trombone sized shank, your best bet for an off the shelf mouthpiece is a Dennis Wick small shank mouthpiece. They're a bit pricey though. There could be vintage mouthpieces floating around that would work as well, but they're not easy to buy sight unseen (it's hard to tell from an image what size the shank is). Hopefully someone on the board has something appropriate sitting in a drawer and is willing to sell!

Some people with these old horns have the receiver replaced with a newer, standard sized one, which allows them access to more standard mouthpiece choices.