Got a York for Christmas - Pix added

[sffz]

My wife bought me a 1920-ish York Eb (sn 62659) to play on while my PT4 gets repaired. It has three forward facing valves with a minuscule receiver. I am excited about making this a project horn, but I have never played a horn this small.

I am looking for some information to help narrow my investigations/thoughts. I play in a brass quintet (they'll love this horn) and a community band.

It is surprisingly good condition. ***edit***Maybe this is a Monster Eb. The bell is 19 3/4" diameter and the instrument stands about 34" tall.



Questions

1. What are my mouthpiece options for a receiver this tiny?

2. Assuming there are MP options, what would you be looking for in a small horn MP? Shallow/deep? funnel/cup? (i liked cup shaped MP on my PT4 but this isn't that.) Large/small throat?

3. Should I replace the receiver with a larger one? What would be the pro & cons of this? ***EDIT*** I have decided against this

[jonesbrass]

Hey, Randy. Congrats on the new horn. What a nice wife, too . . . did you have to train her to be so tolerant of your "tuba habit"?
I think there are several manufacturers that would be able to provide a good mouthpiece for you, but my personal suggestion would be for a Doug Elliott. You could start with the rim diameter and shape you're comfortable with, and pick a cup (or several cups) that suit the sound you want to get out of the Eb. He also has several choices of shank and backbore, and would probably have several that would suit the small reciever on your York.
Can't wait to see the pictures!!
Happy hunting!

[iiipopes]

Wick 3. Also, I think Mike Finn has a few MF4's from a run where the shanks were milled to .500 instead of the standard .520 -- give him a call.

[GC]

I believe that Dillon's keeps some Wick mouthpieces with a bass trombone sized shank in stock. It would probably fit that horn nicely. I have a small shank Wick 5 that fits a couple of 1800's Eefers perfectly.

[Dean E]

My wife bought me a 1920-ish York Eb (sn 62659) to play on while my PT4 gets repaired. It has three forward facing valves with a minuscule receiver. I am excited about making this a project horn, but I have never played a horn this small.

I am looking for some information to help narrow my investigations/thoughts. I play in a brass quintet (they'll love this horn) and a community band.

Questions

1. What are my mouthpiece options for a receiver this tiny?

2. Assuming there are MP options, what would you be looking for in a small horn MP? Shallow/deep? funnel/cup? (i liked cup shaped MP on my PT4 but this isn't that.) Large/small throat?

3. Should I replace the receiver with a larger one? What would be the pro & cons of this?

It is surprisingly good condition. I will post some pictures soon.

Thanks for your wisdom and expertise.

Randy

PS. If you'd rather PM an answer - go for it.

Hi Randy,
I have bought all five Denis Wick models for my WWI York Eb monster (.627 bore, 19.5 bell). I prefer the large DW1 for commnity band, because it gives lots of great false tones. You might want a smaller DW3 for small ensembles. The Denis Wick series mouthpieces fill the bill for small receivers. Look for a number only.

I have a chart of the dimensions for DW1 thru DW5 mouthpieces if you are interested. I'm out of town now and short of time, but could prepare the chart later this week.

I would not replace the receiver, which is not necessary. Do that only if you really want a Helleberg style mouthpiece and need a different reciever. I'd deep the horn in original condition where possible.

[sffz]

Thanks for the replies. I now have a starting point for my mp search.

I have snooped around for some more info on this instrument. I have read some history on the York Co. but would love to look at a old catalog to read more about it.

Can anyone tell me if this is a "monster" or not?

It currently resides in the repair shop for a clean up and felt/cork replacement. Can't wait to get tootin' on it.

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Randy

[davet]

I bought one that looks almost like yours and was told by the seller that it was a monster. Mine plays in tune, has had the receiver replaced and a 4th valve added. My vote is that yours IS a monster.

[windshieldbug]

Thanks for the replies. I now have a starting point for my mp search.

I have snooped around for some more info on this instrument. I have read some history on the York Co. but would love to look at a old catalog to read more about it.

Can anyone tell me if this is a "monster" or not?

It currently resides in the repair shop for a clean up and felt/cork replacement. Can't wait to get tootin' on it.

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Randy

A 19 1/2" bell on an Eb would have been a "monster", at least in the 1913 York catalog shown by the International Tuba Euphonium Association, shown in this article here:

http://www.iteaonline.org/Journal/31N4/31N4York.shtml

which would be a good starting place for information about York, complete with catalog images.

[Steve Inman]

FYI -- the DW1 is a 32.5mm mpc, so it's about half way between a Bach 18 and a Bach 12 -- and about half way between a Helleberg 7B and a Helleberg.

The DW2 is 32mm, or about the same diameter as the 7B Helleberg. Do NOT order the DW1L, 2L, etc. as the "L" means standard shank. Order the mpcs w/o the "L" suffix for small shank -- as was stated above.

Cheers,

[tofu]

My wife bought me a 1920-ish York Eb (sn 62659) to play on while my PT4 gets repaired. It has three forward facing valves with a minuscule receiver. I am excited about making this a project horn, but I have never played a horn this small.

I am looking for some information to help narrow my investigations/thoughts. I play in a brass quintet (they'll love this horn) and a community band.

Questions

1. What are my mouthpiece options for a receiver this tiny?

2. Assuming there are MP options, what would you be looking for in a small horn MP? Shallow/deep? funnel/cup? (i liked cup shaped MP on my PT4 but this isn't that.) Large/small throat?

3. Should I replace the receiver with a larger one? What would be the pro & cons of this?

It is surprisingly good condition. I will post some pictures soon.

Thanks for your wisdom and expertise.

Randy

PS. If you'd rather PM an answer - go for it.

Hi Randy,
I have bought all five Denis Wick models for my WWI York Eb monster (.627 bore, 19.5 bell). I prefer the large DW1 for commnity band, because it gives lots of great false tones. You might want a smaller DW3 for small ensembles. The Denis Wick series mouthpieces fill the bill for small receivers. Look for a number only.

I have a chart of the dimensions for DW1 thru DW5 mouthpieces if you are interested. I'm out of town now and short of time, but could prepare the chart later this week.

I would not replace the receiver, which is not necessary. Do that only if you really want a Helleberg style mouthpiece and need a different reciever. I'd deep the horn in original condition where possible.

Dean,

I'm curious since you have tried all 5 Wick's on you horn if you find a big difference in intonation between the different mouthpieces due to size differences.

Thx

[sffz]

Several years ago I saw this horn at Wally's Music in Oregon City. I had played it in the store but never bought it. I could never rationalize the purchase so there it sat. I was too selfish to tell anyone about it, just in case I could afford in the near future. I was always surprised that it was there whenever I walked in the store.

Well, after the PT-4 disaster, I told Dana about the York. She took pity on me (amazing woman - very pretty, too) and bought it. She was very wary if this was the right thing. Needless to say, she rocks.

I am indeed fortunate and truly unworthy of her. The horn resides at Wally's to get it into playing condition. It should be ready by next Thursday. There are chem-cleaning and doing a little dent work. I will then slave away at getting familiar before quintet and band rehearsals begin again. No need to torture the patient folks who allow me to play with them. I caused enough grief in the key of CC.

As a former trumpet player and current beginning band director I don't think the fingerings will be all that nasty. It is the feel of a significantly different horn and typical Randy 'dough-head' brains that will be the biggest obsitcles to overcome.

Have I ever needed an excuse to miss notes? Nope. Just do it.

Randy
Dana's loving husband
York Monster E Flat owner
Crunched PT-4 weeper

[Dean E]

Dean,

I'm curious since you have tried all 5 Wick's on you horn if you find a big difference in intonation between the different mouthpieces due to size differences.

Thx

Sorry, but I can't speak to intonation differences with the different mouthpieces. I haven't charted the different mouthpieces with a tuner.

I do know that for the low register, I prefer the DW1, which gives a huge, full, lovely sound in the low register. On the other hand, I would use the DW3 for better control above Bb in the staff, such as with my community band's circus marches.

FWIW, the original York 18 mouthpiece (for the York Eb Monster) has a small cup, but a near-maximum backbore, and is easy to play on. The York 18's inside cup diameter measures 1.202, the same as a DW4.

Dean E