King 1140

[The Big Ben]

I have an 1140 and I like the way it plays. It is easy to overblow (blat) so you have to take it easy. I have been able to play it in tune and it is easy to hold and maneuver. I'm using a Conn Helleburg with it and it has been suggested that it would play better with a smaller mouthpiece. If someone has a suggestion, I'm listening.

Personally, I'd go $400 tops for this one. It's kinda beat up and is missing the valve buttons. It would be a cool instrument to take to baseball games and play "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" and other crowd pleasers in the stands. If you could round up a clarinet, cornet, trombone and maybe a bass drum, you could have a baseball Dixie band. It would add some fun and a little humor to a Little League baseball or softball game. Maybe even some free tickets to a A or AA game. Who knows?

[Dan Schultz]

Most of those old King 1140's I've seen have came out of school systems. Very poor bracing and a third valve circuit that is easily damaged. Throw in the problems associated with convertible leadpipes and they are really a mess. There might be some good specimens around yet, but for the most part, they probably ended up in the scrap heap. I guess I'm biased inasmuch as I've never gotten my hands on a good one. UMI did the music industry a big injustice when they merged the Conn and King production to Eastlake and dropped the Conn 15J in favor of continueing to make the King 1140. They even called the 1140 tubas 15J's for a year or so during the transition around 1987/88.

[WakinAZ]

Speaking of UMI missteps and combinations, can you answer this for me Dan?:

So what is up on the valves on the 12J that Bob suggested? http://tinyurl.com/2v2l59 It's a 12J from 1979, but the valve caps look like a King? Was the Cyborg already in motion at that time? All the Conns I've seen have the all-metal valve caps.

Eric "trying to find out if Conn also produced the valve caps with the felts in the top or if this is borrowed King technology" L.