My silver Alexander 163 CC

[bort]

I've had it for about 4 hours. It is amazing!

This is the LAST tuba I will buy for a good, long time.

[bort]

Accepting guesses through 4:00.

[toobagrowl]

Nice! Customized Alex 163 CC?

I've had it for about 4 hours. It is amazing!

This is the LAST tuba I will buy for a good, long time.

So hopefully you will actually keep this tuba at least a year, which is a long time for you

[MN_TimTuba]

I know the horn, but I only see 4 rotors - is there a 5th hidden from view?
And, did you make the drive, or have it shipped?
That is stunning, but the way!

[Tom]

That's my kind of tuba! Sure looks like an Alexander to me, though overhauled/customized slightly.

[anotherjtm2]

First valve slide trigger instead of a 5th valve?

I like the way the uphill lead pipe provides incentive to put lots of air through the horn.

[bisontuba]

Alex CC with the bent Mirafone lead pipe probably done by Bob Pallansch....

[bort]

Most of the above is correct...

This is an Alexander 163 CC, with 4 valves, fresh from Lee Stofer. He shipped it yesterday afternoon by Greyhound... it was in my home before 10:30am today.

Lee believes that it was silver plated at Anderson's at some point, because of the quality of the plating and because it is plated inside and out. He also wondered if these are Hirsbrunner valves, they don't seem like the standard Alex valves to him. On the paddle bar, the word "TRYPLEN" is stamped into the metal. This has tuba has metal valves, but obviously, tryplen would equate to Hirsbrunner.

The leadpipe is obviously not original. Lee vouched for the work and said that it was done very well, and that the tuba played great with this leadpipe. I was offered the option of a new Alexander leadpipe to be fitted and bent to match the tuba... but it seemed like there was little reason to change it. I've seen a similar leadpipe on Dave Kirk's Alexander 163. I've also been told that Don Harry and some of his students from long ago had this done to their tubas. I think Mark is correct about this being Bob's work...

The tuba plays amazingly well. Response is extremely quick. Intonation is solid, and few if any notes need alternate fingerings. Eb in the staff needs to be 23 (same as most CC tubas). Low F is either 1-4 and a big pull on the first slide, or 1-2-4 and no slide pulling. I'll figure out the rest of the low register stuff over time, nothing unreasonable though. The sound... well, you know.

My usual mouthpiece from the last few years (Thein RCC) works just okay. But my old Rudy Meinl RM1 absolutely nails it on this tuba in every way.

[roughrider]

The joy of a new horn! It is beautiful. Have fun with it!

[cjk]

I hope you enjoy your new tuba. Is this number 278? I do find the leadpipe length and shape amusing.

I believe that meinlschmidt made the rotors for both HB and Alexander.

I found the quote below in the following thread:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=61817" target="_blank

Hi-
Just a FYI...some Alexander's of that period also had those same tryplen rotors...they were usually identified by having TRYPLEN stamped on the rotor bridge/bar....
Mark

[bort]

Ooh... Well, maybe they are tryplen, then. Some day, I'll take it apart to figure it out. For now, justbhaving fun, and also being amused by the loopy leadpipe!

[Three Valves]

The spit comes back at me lead pipe arrangement is not my bag, baby!!

But I can’t argue with success...

3,2,1...

[cjk]

Ooh... Well, maybe they are tryplen, then. Some day, I'll take it apart to figure it out. For now, justbhaving fun, and also being amused by the loopy leadpipe!

Pull the second valve slide out and shine a flashlight down there. Alternatively, you could pull the main tuning slide and shine a light at the 4th rotor. You should be able to tell if it's solid brass. The rotors themselves could have been replaced, but the bar not.

[Heavy_Metal]

Another Awesome Alexander- congratulations!

[bort]

Here is the similar leadpipe style on Dave Kirk's Alexander...

[bisontuba]

Those lead pipes made ALL the difference in the world....

[kingrob76]

I've had it for about 4 hours. It is amazing!

This is the LAST tuba I will buy for a good, long time.

I predict it'll be on the market by Christmas

[bort]

How is the intonation? It's always been a theory of mine that the often (but not always) sketchy intonation on the 163 and the MW 2155R was due to the ginormous leadpipe. And that replacing the leadpipe with one with a more reasonable taper might improve intonation.

Intonation is awesome! No problems at all. I have to use 23 for Eb in the staff (not unusual) and then the low register is a little different because of 4-valve fingerings. Otherwise... Dare I say it... Intonation is better than anything piston valve than I have owned.

The thing that surprises me the most is how flexible the tone is. Playing soft, it's thick and meaty, lots of presence and a big dark sound. Loud, you can have the same, or it can be search and destroy. All from a 16.5" bell. Holy cow, this is a ridiculous tuba. I love it.

[bort]

I've had it for about 4 hours. It is amazing!

This is the LAST tuba I will buy for a good, long time.

I predict it'll be on the market by Christmas

Nah, man, this is it. Put a ring on it, she's moving in, we are here to stay. This is it. When you know, you know! Take that seriously from a serial tuba owner!

[Mark Horne]

Brett,

I guess we've had this discussion for a couple of years now - it looks like my prediction was correct - Alexander is the one you have been looking for. 4/4 in size, 5/4 in sound, it is a deceptively powerful horn when you need it to be. And although the sound can be very dense, it seems to have just the right color when playing in an ensemble situation.

It's a beautiful horn in silver plate - congrats!