conn 20J

[andrew the tuba player]

i was wondering...what are some opinions of the conn 20J? I saved one from our bands storage room and played it in church tonight. I love the way that it blows open and the short action valves rank highly one my list. thats what i think. now lets here what you think

[The Big Ben]

Jacksonville State Marching Band just loves 'em. They march with them, something like 75 strong.

[George]

Whoa, we don't quite have 75. We have 28 20-Js and 2 24-Js, but yes we're quite happy with them.

[AndyL]

Other than directing your attention to the 700+ TubeNet archive posts regarding the 20J:

Intonation on mine is best with 1 tuning bit, plays an in-tune "F" at the bottom of the staff, and sounds much better in a large room than in a small one!

[John Caves]

I may put a very nice one up for sale in the near future. Stay tuned.

[ParLawGod]

I like mine - you just have to be VERY careful if playing in a small group. You can easily cover up a small group if you're not careful. I use mine for playing in the city band (outside) so that's never a problem. I just hate the "F" (below the staff, bass clef) on my horn - it is incredibly flat in pitch and irritating). I play mostly trombone/euphonium so it is a great quality, low cost horn for me (since I can't afford a Miraphone 186 or anything like that).

But yeah, do a search and you'll come up with lots of great stuff.

[Steve Marcus]

I always regretted selling my 24J/25J; I needed the proceeds to help pay for my Nirschl CC.

But I recently acquired a banged up 20J in excellent playing condition. What fun that big beast is! Of course, its practical applications are limited. I play it with dynamic discretion (see the advice in the post above) in my Dixieland band. It blows so easily that it makes the job even more of a pleasure.

If memory of my 24J/25J serves well, the privileged notes on the 3-valve 20J speak as well or better than the same notes with 4-valve fingering on the 24J/25J! Even the timbre and intonation of these privileged notes can be tamed to create a smooth tonal transition from the low E (lowest "true" note, albeit sharp is a knife) chromatically down to the pedal BBb.

[Lew]

Other than directing your attention to the 700+ TubeNet archive posts regarding the 20J:

Intonation on mine is best with 1 tuning bit, plays an in-tune "F" at the bottom of the staff, and sounds much better in a large room than in a small one!

These horns were sold with a single tuning bit, so it makes sense that they would play better that way. The tuning bit also allows one to adjust the leadpipe postion to better fit different individuals.

Most of the 20J's that I have owned and played have had challenging intonation on the third partial (the F just below the staff) even with a single tuning bit. My 22J (3 valve side action version) had the best intonation characteristics. All of them have a big "tubby" tuba sound that I like for a large band. The main problem is that I found them to play only at about mf and above. They are fun horns, but the intonation and the size and weight made me decide not to keep them in the stable. Today when I need a large horn I use a King 1291 (4 rotary valve BBb). It has better intonation, response, and ergonomics for me. Of course the Conn's are much more plentiful, so if you can pick one up for around $500 in playing condition it would be a reasonable horn for a large group.

[The Big Ben]

Whoa, we don't quite have 75. We have 28 20-Js and 2 24-Js, but yes we're quite happy with them.

Sorry. I was a little enthusiastic about that. I bet if you *could* have 75, you would! Whatta sound!

[tofu]

Whoa, we don't quite have 75. We have 28 20-Js and 2 24-Js, but yes we're quite happy with them.

You all must have one heck of chiropractor to march with those beasts. It must be tough on the back.

[George]

I marched trombone last year (just switched applied to tuba) so I don't know personally, but it's defiantly a beast to march.

[Jeffrey Hicks]

Beg, borrow, pilfer, scrounge, sell your soul, do what you have to but get a Conn 2 for it.

[The Big Ben]

Whoa, we don't quite have 75. We have 28 20-Js and 2 24-Js, but yes we're quite happy with them.

You all must have one heck of chiropractor to march with those beasts. It must be tough on the back.

I think it helps to be 18 to 23 years old and, like most college kids, a little crazy. And I mean that in a good way.

[GC]

With a proper strap, they're fairly well balanced and not as heavy as you might think. JSU used to carry them with drum straps long ago. I wonder if they still do.

[George]

We still use the old style snare drum straps.

[GC]

Do you hook them to both rings, or only use the top one?

[trseaman]

http://20j.marchingsoutherners.org/home.htm

[The Big Ben]

http://20j.marchingsoutherners.org/home.htm

You should look at the pictures of these guys...

Some of the women are kinda cute but most of the guys look like mutants... Since there are no members who have marched since before 2004, does that mean they actually graduate?

I don't see anyone named 'George" either real or nickname... Why are you hiding, my friend?

[Jack Tilbury]

The 20J also seems to be the weapon of choice on the "Big Joe Polka Show."

[GC]

I like the 20J and Southerners web sites, but. . .

a 20J weighs 28 pounds, not 52, and a 24J weighs 31, not 60. They're heavy, but not THAT heavy.