Hi all,
A few months back, I was looking for a sousaphone for a gig I was playing at school. My professor gave told me to try a couple of lockers, and in one of them I found this old rusty 3v Martin BBb. I snapped a picture with my phone. Can anybody tell me anything about this horn other than the make and key? It's not urgent; I'm just curious.
I also managed to dig up this low-res picture of what appears to be the same horn from the Interwebs (horn-u-copia.net), but that site didn't say anything about it that I didn't already know. Here it is, for the sake of having a back view if nothing else. According to the site, the horn below has the serial number 209744.
It looks like a Martin Mammoth. They are Great horns if the valves are alligned.I couldn't see it but if it says Handcraft on the bell you have a real winner. They have an incredible response and are probably the best thing going for concert band or Trad jazz. Lee Stofer can get new raincatcher bells for them too. Enjoy, Ed
Check what it actually says by "Martin". You can help tell the date by what it says.
I have one of these from the early 1900's (we think) in 3 front action with a fixed upright bell. It has a great, huge sound and a surpsisingly fast and easy response.
Make sure you find a mouthpiece that works with this horn. On mine, the Bach 24W was very comfortable, but ended up leaving me wanting better articulation. Currently, I'm on a Schilke Helleberg 2, but each horn and player is different (so find what's best for you).
If you can, I would suggest a little relaquering if you can (and if you have the money), but that's just for asthetics.
"We can avoid humanity's mistakes"
"Like the tuba!"
It looks as though your receiver has been modified and may not require the two tuning bits. If you post the serial number I can tell you the year of manufacture. A number lower than 145,000 or so indicates a pre-WWII horn, (better, IMO). They are great horns that usually have great intonation and a surprisingly easy, singing high register.
Adjunct Tuba Professor
William Paterson University
Wayne, NJ
Unfortunately, I took this picture before the school year ended and forgot to post it on here earlier. I moved back home for the summer about a month ago, so I'll have to give it a second look when I get back to school in August. Thanks for all the input, and I'll let you know what I find out.
Sadly I only have this 1958 as a thumbnail on my disk, but it tells about the usage of at least one bit.
If I remember previous discussions on the old TubeNet correctly, some said, that this Martin model was made with Conn 20J outerbranches and a smaller bore long stroke martion valve block. The Conn part of that was dismissed/counterproven.
Some told that the DC Marine band bought this model for the whole section. Others might bemore precise or you might find the old thread.
Klaus
PS: One more photo from my galleries (slightly diluted to get it below 256k):
Very interesting...the back is almost identical to the back of mine, except that they are reversed. Also, where the valves are in the picture, that is where my slides are...Probably the same machinery, but assembled differently...
"We can avoid humanity's mistakes"
"Like the tuba!"
