TubeNet

Something is not quite right but I cannot put my finger on it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GEBR-ALEXANDER ... 2553919455" target="_blank?

(This may not get you there but you can find it with this address)

I owned an Alex about twenty years ago (BB) that looked identical to this. I also had a teacher that owned an Alex BB from the 60's that looked nothing at all like this. That all said, the bracing and a lot of the rotor work looks just like some Alex's I have seen. Also the slide tube paths are pretty close. I would call it an Alex..... If the price stays good, it will be a steal... If it plays well of course..

There was an Alex for sale a couple years ago in this town, which BTW is about halfway between York and Lancaster. Not sure if this is the same one or not. And yes, I'm sure it's an Alex.

If this auction ends the way the last one did, someone is going to get a heck of a deal.

Gentlemen, this is a B&S 101 tuba. An excellent horn, but not an Alexander 163

So, do you think this is a B&S with an Alexander Kranz? We knew it wasn't a 163, but maybe an earlier model?

Sorry, didn’t type everything I meant to. I meant to say a newer 163 but that maybe it was an older one.

This horn could have an Alex bell or maybe just the kranz. Everything else about it looks like a B & S/VMI 101. Even the harness loop on the bottom bow looks B & S. The seller notes that the receiver is a regular tuba shank.... something else that is a bit unusual for a true Alex.

Whatever it is, that bell has been on the tuba all along.

Yeah, it does look like a B&S 101/'Sonora' tuba with an Alex kranz or bell. Kinda strange.
Keep in mind the B&S 101/'Sonora' is a loose "copy" of the Alex 163 BBb. But the Alex 163 is (from what I remember) slightly larger overall than the B&S copy. Besides the minor cosmetic/physical differences between the two, the Alex has a .807" ish valve bore; while the B&S has a .750" ish valve bore.

This tuba reminds me of that odd piston Alex BBb that floated around a few years ago. Does anyone remember it? It was an Alex 163 BBb body with a 3-piston top-action B&M valveset. Really odd, but cool

The valve block is 100% B&S as are the paddles and bell shape.
To fit a 163 Alexander bell or kranz to a B&S 101 is not so easily done.
Perhaps Alexander contracted out with B&S in the 1960s and engraved their logo?

Wasn't there a similar tuba that showed up here in the last couple years? No one really had a good answer for that one either. Even if this is the regular B&S stencil, anything under $2000 is still reasonable.

Sold for $2,100.00.

Shows people still want to buy older European horns which is good. The pricier the Chinese horns get these older ones in decent shape will probably start to pop up again and be more desirable.

Well, fine. You got what you paid for.

Perhaps it's still an Alex that had some dent work and the horn had to be opened up. Lacquer fading marks could mean anything over a period of 40-50 years especially being in the hands of many different repairmen over the years.

Nothing that really screams it isn't. There was another one of these "swapped" bell horns that appeared last year online, doubt it happens twice.

I keep hoping Tim Sullivan will chime in on this one. In a similar discussion on the tuba/euphonium Facebook page I think he suggested that Alexander, B & S, and VMI were virtually one in the same during a period in European history. What we see here in the US is limited by what is sold here in the US. There are lots of things that never reach our shores.

Dan Schultz wrote:I keep hoping Tim Sullivan will chime in on this one. In a similar discussion on the tuba/euphonium Facebook page I think he suggested that Alexander, B & S, and VMI were virtually one in the same during a period in European history. What we see here in the US is limited by what is sold here in the US. There are lots of things that never reach our shores.

I seem to remember reading that one, love hearing from the guys who immersed themselves into a particular area of horn study and can tell you everything you don't hear in the general discussion threads. I will have to look him up and hear his conclusion.