Big Old Conn BBb with 4 front-action valves & upright be

[Art Hovey]

http://www.galvanizedjazz.com/tuba/BigConn.html

[Gongadin]

Hey...
I sent him a PM first!

[Tubaryan12]

at that price he probably had pm's the moment it posted

[Brassdad]

I know he had mine.....
Hey give a dad a chance to be a hero to his son.

[MartyNeilan]

FWIW:

When I see a good and inexpensive tuba show up for sale, I would much rather see a student or a low budget amateur who does not already have a decent horn (or any at all) pick it up than someone who currently has a half dozen or more sitting in a room and is just looking to "collect."

My opinion.

[Lew]

FWIW:

When I see a good and inexpensive tuba show up for sale, I would much rather see a student or a low budget amateur who does not already have a decent horn (or any at all) pick it up than someone who currently has a half dozen or more sitting in a room and is just looking to "collect."

My opinion.

I disagree. This is Art's horn and he has made some modifications on it. Even taking that into consideration, my bet is that the horn is still a bit "quirky" and may not be suitable for the student or low budget amateur.

I would personally prefer to see this horn restored and then placed into the hands of someone that will play it and appreciate it. There are damn few examples of these types of horns that haven't been beaten to snot by students and amateurs - a great example is the Holton BAT being discussed on the main board. Fortunately Bandmaster is willing to spend a fair amount of money to bring that horn back to it's previous glory.

btw:

I only know of one collector that buys horns and then sits on them.

As a bit of a collector (I have 14 tubas/helicons/sousaphones) I don't think that this horn is something that most collectors would want anyway. Collectors typically are looking for something that is unique, or they collect based on the manufacturer. For example, for whatever reason I decided that I wanted one of each of the low brasses made by Henry Distin. I have an Eb tuba, Bb tuba, valve trombone, Bb helicon, Eb helicon, euphonium, and Bb baritone made by him. I had a few of his alto horns and cornets, but decided to only keep those things that I might actually play. The only thing that I would like that I don't have is a Distin double bell euphonium.

I was just looking for one sample of each. I know others who would want one of every model made, and in each factory. Whatever the criteria, they typically want something unaltered, other than restoring it to its original condition. Once it has been modified to be different from the original design, even if it improves the way it plays, it becomes less desirable.

With the modifications made to this horn it doesn't really fit the characteristics that most collectors would want.

[Art Hovey]

Thank you all for your learned comments. The tuba is sold. I just took an old tuba with 3 top-action valves (a configuration that I don't care for) and rebuilt it the way I think it should have been made, to the extent that was possible without spending a lot of money. I just wanted to see if I could do it, and I did. If I did not have other tubas already I could have kept this one and used it for the rest of my life without complaining. For the collectors out there, you could have bought this horn on EBay in its original configuration for only $600 if you really wanted it. That's how I got it, two years ago. I did not spend a lot on parts, but I did put a whole lot of time on this project. My other tuba projects have involved new valve blocks on old horns: much more pricey, but definitely the way to go.