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Certainly no person could consider this to be a "professional" instrument as the bell faces the wrong way and it's not in C or F and any "pro" horn must be named after a Greek god. Shame on whoever bids on it without first consulting their pompous, sarcastic, bag of hot air teacher to warn them of the pitfalls of independant thought.Ed

For the record, Thor is Norse...same with Fafner and possibly Faslot (though don't quote me on the last one)

I was hoping that someone would notice (and comment on) this tuba, on which I am the current high bidder. I hope to get it all fixed up and play in a non-professional way on it!

About a month ago there were two York Eb's, one a four valve and one a three valve on Ebay. I bought the four valve one. The tuba man in the orchestra here owns a four valve and two three valve York Eb's and playing his horns is what persuaded me to by this one. Yorks and Holtons of this period are almost interchangable with the Holtons of course having those cool smooth ferruls. The guy who tweaks everyone's horns here has a Holton Eb. Along with about 50 other great tubas, but I digress.They all have an incredible sound, unlike any other Eb I've ever heard. But they are also around 100 years old which gets into the high pitch/low pitch thing and is something that needs to be addressed. Also, leaks and valve allignment are issues as often the stems and or finger buttons aren't original. The reciever may also be very small and be a candidate for replacement. This is all pretty daunting but definitely do-able and the metal these horns were constructed of is the best.If you are near one of the great repairmen, Lee Stofer, Bloke, Matt Walters, or here in central Fl, Tom Treece they can fix you right up. That being said remember that it could be a bit of trial and error to figure everything out but if you wnat a great classic American sounding Eb you'll have one when it's all sorted out.Best of luck to you, Ed

bloke wrote:

daveinem wrote:I was hoping...to...play in a non-professional way on it!

Apparently bloke has gone from marketing mouthpieces to marketing headpieces.

K

bloke wrote:

Ah...another dead rat flushed out of a tuba...

Update on this horn.

Had the leaks plugged, and the whole thing gone over by a repairman here (Michel Bathalon) and it plays very well. Intonation quite good. Huge bell and bows, but small bore, and tiny valves (although some plating is gone, they are light and fast). Gorgeous sound. I spent about $650 CAD so far.
It is just very dirty. My repair guy suspects it was in a fire or something. Any suggestions on the best way to clean a dirty old horn? I was going to go with soap and water, then a silver polish.

Thanks for all the advice!

Dave Martin

Your course of action depends on whether you really want it to be shiney. Because the silver will tarnish and eventually reach a darkened patina again.

Soap and water should be sufficient. Rubbing alcohol should sterilize the insides if needed. But you have already had some work done - so the inside would hopefully be in good shape.

Want shiney? Then go with Haggarty's Silver polish. Or the polish of your chosing.

Post some pics when you have it all spiffed up!

Thanks, guys!

If it was in a fire it would be unplayable. I suspect the solder would melt in a fire of any size.

A sonic cleaning or an acid should help, inside and out. I loved the curly-que tubing.

I'm using the curly-que as a main tuning slide puller. Quite convenient really.

Alex C wrote:If it was in a fire it would be unplayable. I suspect the solder would melt in a fire of any size.

It probably would...especially with some of the lead solders...if it was in a fire, it could be just a pile of parts...

Sounds like you're already taking the best way to clean it, and congrats. It should have a good sound, and tuning will be fun. I always wondered what the extra loops and curlicues on the bottoms of the slides did to the resistance or intonation of a tuba.