Martin tuba project completed, Finally

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:18 pm

Okay tuba fans and BAT enthusiasts. Harold beat me to it but I am now letting it be known that the Martin conversion has been completed and is now in its owners happy hands. The web page has been updated though the text needs some editing, that will be done tomorrow but you will get the idea. Can't express how pleased I am with its playability but it is only exceeded by the joy of wrapping it up. I have included a few additional shots. let me know your thoughts here of feel free to e-mail me at the shop. I look forward to your input.

Oh yeah, a while back there was a discussion about the amount of silver on the average contrabass tuba, this one has less then eight ounces but still one heck of a thick and solid plate job.

Enjoy

http://www.oberloh.com/martintuba/martintuba.htm

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 12:29 am

If memory serves, the bore is .715"

Dan

tofu · Post by **tofu** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 2:44 am

Dan - simply stunning - could you hazard a guess as to how many hours it took to bring it to this beautiful state???

We need more skilled craftsman like you who obviously have the passion to care and understand tubas (and tubists)!

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 4:05 am

How many hours?......Hmmm

I hazord to quess. To be honest, there were so many late nights I lost count. In the end I billed on the number of burn scars, cuts, pulled muscles and other assorted injuries aquired on the project.

I do wish I had the forsight to have taken a picture before starting to work on it, the restoration of the body and figuring out how I was going to get it to go together the way I wanted it to, took a great deal of work but building the valve and tuning slide assemblies was by far the most time consuming as everthing had to be custom built. Even the old post style water key saddles and screws were made from scratch to keep it looking totaly factory. The only part I did change was the buttons which were replaced with the large oversize type that I like so much in addition to the valve guides that are now the modern nylon type that are smoother and a lot quieter.

Thanks for the kind words.

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
www.oberloh.com

jlbreyer · Post by **jlbreyer** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:09 am

I, too, am in awe of the result. I only wish I could afford such a great horn.

I must say, though, that there is a certain irony in applying such consummate craftsmanship to "make it look factory"

Joe Baker · Post by **Joe Baker** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:17 am

BAT....a-ggaaa-aa-gga-ga-aaa
___________________________________
Joe Baker, who is awestruck.

Lew · Post by **Lew** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:53 am

The original Martin's of this vintage that I have seen have all had a very short leadpipe with a pair of tuning bits. You mentioned that you made a new leadpipe for this. Did this have that short leadpipe, and do you have the original receiver and or the bits from the original leadpipe that you could send photos of?

tubathig · Post by **tubathig** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:57 am

I want to bow down and worship the BAT. You did a fine job. Does it play as well as it looks???

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 2:42 pm

Lew wrote:The original Martin's of this vintage that I have seen have all had a very short leadpipe with a pair of tuning bits. You mentioned that you made a new leadpipe for this. Did this have that short leadpipe, and do you have the original receiver and or the bits from the original leadpipe that you could send photos of?

Actually, this tuba predates that type of design. I have only seen such pipes on later model top action valve recording basses. This type of instrument had a short and narrow pipe as does an original four front valve model I am presently restoring for another customer. No bits are used. The original has a taller profile from the bottom bow to the top bow, allowing the player to reach through the body to adjust the top valve slides where the converted instrument I put together has a lower profile allowing the player to reach over the top bow and adjust the slides with ease. The branches were not altered in any way.

The original mouth-pipe is in my keeping as are the original copy I made to go on the modified design and the other three test pipes that did not quite deliver the punch and response I was trying obtain. The receiver was the small style that no one would want, especially the owner so the new one was made to fit a modern shank and modeled after the profile of the original mouthpiece receiver.

I just got a letter in the mail from the owner, he is very happy with the horn and loves the way the high E in Meistersinger makes his wife's chrystal rattle, his words: "COOL":D

Daniel C. Oberloh

Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
Saving the world, one horn at a time...

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 4:45 pm

Both body and valve block date from the late/middle 1920's. The bit/pipe set up could be from the 30's but all the horns I ever saw with this set up were supposedly built in the late 40's and early 50's.

Doc wrote: Michaelangelo, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Oberloh... has a nice ring, doesn't it?

Thats a real nice thing to say and I really appreciate it Doc but those folks were head and shoulders above me, I'm just a guy who fixes band instruments and now and then tries to make something nice to look at and make music with. But thanks for the praise.

I have not given it a lot of thought lately but I was just wondering how many players out there are actually playing on old Martin tubas? Maybe a new thread is called for, maybe later as I have a Mirafone CC on the bench I need to get squared away, the owner is off to college soon and will be needing it.

Daniel C. Oberloh

Alex Reeder · Post by **Alex Reeder** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 7:58 pm

Mr. Oberloh,

I really like the contrast between the satin silver finish and regular silver on the Martin emblem. Was this the way the horn was created originally, or is this an extra touch that you put on these special instruments?

I have a tuba with a York bell from around 1915-1917 that was satin silver, but has been worn so much that you can hardly tell. Sometimes I think I can see a contrast in the finish on the York emblem. Do you think my York looked similar to this Martin in that regard when it was new?

Also, I am interested in the process you must go through to create this effect. Do you sand blast the tuba first and then polish the parts of the emblem, or do you protect it somehow during the sand blasting process?

The Martin looks fabulous! I can only imagine how amazing my horn could look if you were to re-plate it and restore it. You do wonderful work, and are a gift to our community.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 9:42 pm

Alex Reeder wrote:Also, I am interested in the process you must go through to create this effect. Do you sand blast the tuba first and then polish the parts of the emblem, or do you protect it somehow during the sand blasting process?

I was in Dan's shop a couple of times when he was working on this tuba. The areas to remain shiny are masked before sand blasting. Also, I believe on this tuba the engraving was badly worn so Dan re-engraved the bell.

Even though the pictures of this tuba are great, you still can't get a good idea of the incredible amount of detail work that Dan puts into a project like this.

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 10:53 pm

Actually, that is the type of finish it had originally. It was probably the same sad condition as your York bell. I recut the engraving after polishing, then buffed it really well and then masked it prior to glass-bead-plasting. After blasting it was color buffed again and cleaned. After plating it was polished and color buffed a final time. Sonds simple enough, right.

Daniel C. Oberloh

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Sat Sep 04, 2004 9:24 pm

Amazing work!!!

I've followed your projects as posted on your website for years now, and am always impressed. My personal favorite is probably the Sarrusophone...beautiful work, to say the least!

The attention to detail is always awesome as is the finish work.

Adam C. · Post by **Adam C.** » Sun Sep 05, 2004 2:30 pm

I hope you're not planning on cutting that York BBb to a CC...

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Sun Sep 05, 2004 3:52 pm

No Adam, I do not do such acts of butchery. I will not pretend to know more then the people who built the horn, I only upgrade them so as to improve the facility and useabilty for the owner. If they want a CC there are plenty of modern day instrument that will play much better then an old cut down BBb and at less cost. The bugel of the horns is restored but left intact and is only reversed to allow for the modern four or five valve assembly and mouthpipe to be installed. As the tuba originally stands, few would be interested in investing the amount of money it costs to rebuild a three top action tuba, even if it is a 6/4 York. I hope this puts your mind at ease.

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works

winston · Post by **winston** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:06 pm

ThomasDodd · Post by **ThomasDodd** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 10:43 am

winston wrote:So wo much does a project like that end up costing in the end?

This phrase comes to mind.
"If you have to ask, you cannot afford it"

Daniel C. Oberloh · Post by **Daniel C. Oberloh** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 10:32 pm

The previous post is most probably true for the majority of us. The cost of these projects, taking into account the price of parts and plating, are in the neighborhood of what a decent middle of the road tuba would cost new. In other words, damned expensive. But in the end you have an instrument that simply can not be purchased new. Martins, Yorks and Holton 345s are no longer made and an equivalent modern instrument would need to be hand made and would be even more costly.
Not surprisingly, there are players out there who want that sound. The Martin tuba is not the last such project of this type I will have undertaken. I have two more big tubas I have been asked to modify and restore in the shop and a couple more waiting in the wings. These in addition to a number of large Holtons and a few more Yorks that are in the line up to be rebuilt and plated. So it would seem, if you want a nice 6/4 BBb with that"York", "Holton", "Martin" sound, this seems to be a reasonable rout to take. The other plus is the fact that playing on nice instruments built seventy-plus years ago and that are so unique looking has a serious cool factor.

It will be a while before I have completed any of the current projects but I will be sharing details on those projects as they progress. Its nice to know this forum finds the old horns to be of as much interest as I do, if not more so.

Daniel C. Oberloh

Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
Seattle, WA
206.241.5767
www.oberloh.com

Bandmaster · Post by **Bandmaster** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 4:51 pm

Daniel C. Oberloh wrote:...in addition to a number of large Holtons and a few more Yorks that are in the line up to be rebuilt and plated. So it would seem, if you want a nice 6/4 BBb with that"York", "Holton", "Martin" sound, this seems to be a reasonable rout to take.

One of those large Holtons is my 345, shown in my avatar to the left. I can't wait until it is done! My other horn just can't compare to that sound.

TubeNet

Martin tuba project completed, Finally

Martin tuba project completed, Finally

satin finish on emblem

Re: satin finish on emblem

I can't wait...