TubeNet

bloke wrote:If the general topic interests you, but you also have no experience with the Conn or Conn-engraved C versions...

Here's another question:

Has anyone here ever pasted a King .687"-bore B-flat valveset on to one of the Olds/Reynolds B-flat bodies, and - if anyone has ever done that - did it seem to help the Olds/Reynolds/Conn B-flat tuba, or screw it up?

Having owned a few of the .656 bore Conn/Reynolds/Olds 3/4ish tubas, I've always wondered if a .687 valve set would open them up a bit. They've always been a tight blow for me, but I really like those horns. I couldn't imagine slapping on a .687 bore valve section would be too difficult.

I’ve used my Conn C 2J for years - especially for Church gigs. It has a focused, compact-yet resonant- sound, perfect for echoey venues. The intonation is excellent. Though I prefer the breadth of sound of larger bore York style Tubas, my Conn 2J can do the job in most situations. (Especially where a microphone is involved).

.....and then there is the question ' What happened to Harvey's Conn CC?'
I think(?) his family still has it.....

bloke wrote:Has anyone here ever pasted a King .687"-bore B-flat valveset on to one of the Olds/Reynolds B-flat bodies, and - if anyone has ever done that - did it seem to help the Olds/Reynolds/Conn B-flat tuba, or screw it up?

Not yet, but I've been tempted to try it. The only issue I can see is that the horn has already reduced to .687 by the time it reaches the large side of the MTS, so that introduces a long section of one size of cylindrical tubing into the bugle.


I assume the Contempora (.687 bore, sousaphone-style cluster) has a different bugle (?)

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Not to continue to hijack this thread, buttttttttttttt, I believe Harvey told me he had 2 of the CC’s that he regularly played. I only saw one. But, he sent them out to be overhauled sometime around 1975, and someone (?) plated the inside of the tuning slides making those tubas unusable until that issue was rectified. He had a 3rd Conn tuba with no tuning slides. He bought rubber hose of the same diameter and with plumbing clamps, he created tuning slides. Of course, they didn’t move. I did hear him play at a local conference, maybe at Mansfield U. in PA, using the tuba with the hose slides. He sounded fine.

Sooooo, what ever happened to these 3 Conn tubas of Harvey’s??

I’m sure you recall cutting a third slide for me on a 2j. Everything workable after that. They just can’t be manhandled. Just have to let them be what they are.

Hello, Tubenet –

Bloke’s timing of this thread coincided with my Conn 2J being at Lee Stofer’s shop for intonation adjustments - I just hadn’t spoke up yet because I was waiting to get the horn back from Lee and check it out (which I’ve taken some time doing).

I’ve played Tuba since 1974, and I’ve owned this horn since 2006. Mine has played on the low side, so I asked Lee if the main tuning slide could be shortened, along with any other slides that might need shortening too. He and his assistant performed the following adjustments. Measurements are included in case they might prove useful to someone else who has one of these horns.

1. The mouthpiece receiver was “deepened”, allowing the Stofer Geib mouthpiece I use to go 5/16” farther into the horn. Additionally, the receiver had a ¾” gap going onto the leadpipe (!), so now it’s shoved on where it belongs. The other end of the leadpipe was also slightly small going into the collar outside the first valve casing, so that was expanded before reattachment. The total length of the receiver, leadpipe and collar from the end to the first valve casing is now about 14 ¼”, measured on the front.

2. The 1st valve tubing was shortened – its long pipe is now 7 ½”, from the slide to the bottom branch. This certainly helps the in-staff Ds and C#s. The upper back bow of the 4th valve tubing was also pulled away from the 1st valve tubing, so they’re not touching.

3. The 2nd valve remained untouched.

4. The 3rd valve tubing, which has slides at the top and bottom, was shortened at the bottom - its long pipe is now 14 ¼” from slide to slide. There’s still 5/8” and 3/16” of available tubing that could be removed from the top and bottom respectively before reaching the plates of the two braces, but I doubt that needs to be shortened any more – playing Abs and Ebs with 2-3 especially feel pretty good now. The shortening of the 1st and 3rd valve tubing now makes pulling the 1st slide quite a bit necessary to play D and G below the staff in tune with 1-3. Playing Db and Gb 1-2-3 requires even more pulling, but honestly, I’m fine with that - I’d rather play all four of those notes with the 4th valve anyway, which is much better in tune, and have Abs and Ebs that play better in tune as well.

5. The 4th valve remained untouched. Off topic, a few years ago I had a water key added to the bottom back side branch of the 4th valve, which has proven useless. Water collects in a dogleg right outside of the valve, so the only way to get any water out of that valve is to spin the horn and pull the 4th slide. I clearly didn’t consider which direction the air flows through the tubing when I asked another repairman to install that water key, so I should have seen that one coming. Learn from my lesson, if you’re thinking about having that done to your horn.

6. The tubing just above the main slide receiving tubes was shortened, probably as much as possible. When the main slide is fully inserted it’s now 6 1/8” past the 4th valve casing, measured on the outside. There’s an additional ¼” of available tubing that could be removed from the receiving tubes before reaching the plates of the brace, if more shortening is needed. At least now the horn plays at A=440 with the main tuning slide pulled out, not shoved all the way in and having to constantly lip up.

7. A small dent just behind the 1st valve slide in the smaller upper bow of the open bugle was removed.

8. Lee and his assistant discovered during a water test that the bottom bow of the open bugle was not soldered on well – one side had only half of the solder it needed, so they completely re-soldered the bow.

All of these adjustments have resulted in the horn playing better in tune with better response, and all notes in the 3rd partial (G bottom line down through C#, a slightly problematic range) center in better now too. I’ve spent too many aggravating hours applying way too much effort trying to get worn out or poorly built Tubas to play in tune – this one no long belongs in that camp. And although it’s not part of this discussion either, Lee vented all four valves of this horn a few years ago, which I REALLY enjoy - that was a huge improvement for this horn too.

Lee, if I’ve misquoted anything here, I humbly apologize (and please correct me). Otherwise, thank you once again for improving my 2J.