HP Eb 4valve helicon

[Chuck(G)]

Well, think about it--to go from approximately 60 cents sharp Eb to an in-tune F, you'd have to remove enough tubing to raise the pitch by 140 cents, which wouild be about 6.5 inches on each tuning slide leg (which isn't possible, so you'd have to get it from somewhere else)--and you'd have to cut the tuning slides.

To go from a 60 cents sharp Eb to an in-tune Eb, you'd have to add enough tubing to account for that 60 cents, which, on an Eb tuba is about 2.5 inches added to the main tuning slide legs. For the rest, you can pull the tuning slides to bring the valves into tune.

Neither approach addresses how the resulting intonation would be--and it could turn out to be pretty awful in either case.

[Chuck(G)]

1/ I never thought of 441 as "high pitch".
2/ I wonder if they really know where the pitch actually is on this instrument.
3/ Rotor tolerance is always a "wild card" on these sorts of items.
3/ The price causes me to click away quickly.

I missed the mention of 441 in the listing. Normal high pitch is about A4=457 or so. I'm wondering what he's using for a mouthpiece in the photos.

[trseaman]

The price causes me to click away quickly.

He's pretty proud of all his horns... I especiallly like these:

1/2 sized horn @ 40" tall?
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-2-SIZE-GERMAN-CHR ... dZViewItem

3/4 sized horn @ 41" tall? And a no-name for $3000?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NO-NAME-3-4-SIZE-TU ... dZViewItem

I'll admit that he's got a nice, large collection of horns. But his pricing is too high... It's hard to have any interest if the price is already high.

Tim

[Donn]

I'll admit that he's got a nice, large collection of horns. But his pricing is too high... It's hard to have any interest if the price is already high.

On the good side:
- He isn't going to burn you on shipping or "handling" fees.
- According to my very limited experience, a return will be cheerfully accepted.
- He does seem to be somewhat acquainted with musical instruments, and does make an attempt to check out things like pitch.

The prices are high by ebay standards, if there is such a thing, but those standards come from more typical auctions where you're invited to look at the pictures, draw your own conclusions, and generally engage in a risky transaction.

For what it's worth, I recently acquired an Eb Amati-family helicon, and with a Marcinkiewicz H4 to drive it, it's one big Eb. More of an all around tuba than a special purpose bass tuba. I love it. I sat in as sole tuba last night in a concert, and wrestled with the choice between this and my Bb sousaphone, which is a fine instrument, but I basically chose quality over quantity and took the helicon.

This thing appears to have roughly similar dimensions, but mine has a full wrap, unlike this one. The only good thing about that full wrap is that it suited the previous owner so poorly that he sold it, to me. This one's configuration is likely to be a lot more comfortable and stable, though of course I would not care to guarantee that.

I'm not saying it's a winner - the valves probably need work, we know there's a pitch issue, and there are inadequate provisions for drainage - just thinking the price isn't all that incredibly optimistic.

[windshieldbug]

1/ I never thought of 441 as "high pitch".
2/ I wonder if they really know where the pitch actually is on this instrument.

I missed the mention of 441 in the listing. Normal high pitch is about A4=457 or so.

Don't sell youself short, Chuck. He says that it "Plays High Pitch Eb 441 With Main Tuning Slide Pulled Out". I'm guessing that it's "441" because with the main pulled all the way out, it's still too high to be 440. Not that it can't be remedied, because around 1900 there were lots of American horns which were built for both.

But bloke's right, too, if 441 is "high" then one obviously never played in an American orchestra...