Old Eb Tuba on E***

[LOTP]

Item 270011778385

Ad says circa 1895
But it has Berlinerpumpen! I thought these were superceced by Perinet long before this date. Any collectors or old instrument experts in the group care to comment?

Paul

[windshieldbug]

August Pollmann "stenciled" a lot of horns. The date for Pollmann is right, the use of the valves is likely just a holdover from whomever he was getting his horns from.

Stölzel valves were also made in France until late in the nineteenth century.

Or, it may have just been old stock that they were looking to unload.

[imperialbari]

My galleries document a Swedish tuba with Berliner Pumpen from as lately as 1907.

Berliner Pumpen have a geometry of the airpath through their valves, which can be considered superior to rotary valves and most Perinet pistons. Only the pistons as seen in American style front action brasses maybe are better. I really consider these a successor of the prnciple of the Berliner Pumpen.

The problems with the Berliner Pumpen are these:

They are of a wide diameter compared to their height. That gives a somewhat shaky movement.

This less than stable movement is not helped by the way the old guys made the piston guides for the BP. The steering groove is hammered or pressed into the nickel silver piston. The piston guide is a screw going through the wall of the piston casing.

In my opinion the Berlin Pumpen fell victims to a bad technical execution of a brilliant idea.

I have a 3+2 F tuba with Berliner Pumpen. I had planned to write in depth on that valve system, but personal circumstances have diverted my energies.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

[imperialbari]

Some documentation on the object of this thread:

It hardly would be worth a repair:

This page gives some information on Pollmann within the text about Martin;

http://www.angelfire.com/music2/thecorn ... s_l_p.html

This page tells about another Pollmann instrument with Berliner Pumpen:

http://www.neillins.com/TH005.htm

Pollmann also sold other instruments. Among them a banjo/mandolin hybrid:

http://tinyurl.com/rnoob

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre
(The larger photos have a somewhat funny server address, which does not work with the photo-code of this board)

[LOTP]

It finally sold for $611 (!)
Among the bidders were at least two regulars from this forum.

Paul (no connection whatsoever to the instrument or its seller)

[iiipopes]

It is not cost-effective. Neither is my fanned fret guitar. But I built it to play for me, with my elbow and thumb starting to remind me of old injuries. Plus there are some sonic benefits as to separation and clarity of intonation. See novax.com

But in the same way, since there are those who believe that the airflow, and by inference the tone, is superior, and given that Weiner horns are currently made with Berliner valves, it must be for a good musical reason, and I for one would like the privilege someday of comparing three basically identical tubas, one with rotaries, one with piston (OK, with B&S, Rudy & M-W that much is a given) AND one with Berliners.

So I think that for $611, they got a deal that they can live with over time and take it a step at a time to bring it back up to speed, as I did building my guitar, doing what I could, and subcontracting out the neck and a couple of other little details I do not have the tools and experience for. That reminds me - it's time to wax-dip the pickups next week, as the fall cub scout schedule and community band have not geared up yet, and the summer church league softball is over.

Hey, Klaus -- looking forward to your essay on your F tuba with Berliners as you get the chance!

[windshieldbug]

[quote="Music of the 26th North Carolina Regimental Band from the Civil War"]At the bass end of the band we see their E-flat tuba player, J. A. Leinbach (second from the right), with their only over-the-shoulder instrument. It is equipped with a then-popular type of short, fat, piston valve now usually called the “Berliner Pumpenâ€