Does anyone have pics of the new Kanstul 90 CC tuba?

[Billy M.]

I'm really curious as to what these look like. BTW, did anyone else play this at the Capitol Conference back in January?

[Ferguson]

I do, but I can't find the cord to connect my camera to the computer. Maybe this week. Essentially it looks like the front piston BBb and Eb, with whom it shares a bell and bottom bow.

Kanstul has made 3 of these new CCs so far, and the latest one is lighter and has a larger bore: 1st, 2nd, 3rd: .689", 4th: .710", 5th: .734".

This new Kanstul is simply an amazing tuba. I've played a Hirsbrunner HB2-P for over a decade, and this new CC gives it a run for its money. I may choose a Kanstul as my main CC tuba now. I've just ordered one, so we'll see next month when it's done.

Best,

Steve Ferguson

[Ferguson]

I found my camera cord. Here are some pics of the first test model of the Kanstul model 90 CC tuba. (Polishing, lacquering, and water keys are included. 5th rotor rubber band is not.) The 5th rotor loop did not go down as low on the final version, so knee clearance is not a problem. The latest CC tuba (#3) will be shown at the Frankfurt Musikmesse next week.

Ferguson

[chhite]

I'll be at the Messe on Wednesday and will bring back a full report with photos and comments.

[TubaTodd]

Stature,appearance at-first-glance and bore sizes......it looks like a Conn 56J with a larger rotor. How does it play?

EDIT:

You say you ordered one. What is the going rate?

[Ferguson]

Stature,appearance at-first-glance and bore sizes......it looks like a Conn 56J with a larger rotor. How does it play?

No contest. It kicks *** over a 56J.

IMHO.

YMMV.

But not much.

Steve "who thinks he would rather play this model 90 that his Hirsbrunner HB-2P" Ferguson

[Ferguson]

You say you ordered one. What is the going rate?

Not finalized, but I believe it should hold at around $8300 silver plate including SKB hard case.

Ferguson

[Ferguson]

Curiously, the general dimensions and layout of this thing are similar to my Gnagey. What vintage make/model of horn was the model for this one?

The Model is the 1930's J.W. York, but the original York models for this new Kanstul line were all in BBb or Eb, plus one BBb to CC conversion. Except for the bell and bottom bow, all the branches on this one were designed from scratch. And I believe this larger bore is different than the Yorks as well.

Ferguson

[wonderbread403]

How's the reach to pull the first valve slide? It looks difficult to get an arm over the top bow.

[iiipopes]

Will the new Kanstul #3 become the new "York #3"?

[Ferguson]

How's the reach to pull the first valve slide? It looks difficult to get an arm over the top bow.

Agreed. It's tight. But you can get your hand in there, and in my cursory playing of it, I didn't feel the need to move the slide much anyway.

Ferguson

[Bob Kolada]

Why the virtually inaccessible 5th valve slide? Some of us like to tune it depending on what register we are playing in (for 523 or 54, for instance).

[Lee Stofer]

I did not show any of the 3 new CC's at the Washington, DC Conference in January, because they were not finished at that time.

I will be in Frankfurt, Germany at the Musikmesse this next week as part of Team Kanstul, and plan to spend some quality time with my old buddy Chris Hite and the new Kanstul CC tuba.

To date, they have built three CC tubas. As I understand it, two of them are the fairly heavy-guage wall thickness, have the original York .656" bore, and play like Yorks. The third CC is made of lighter-guage metal, and has a larger .689" bore. This is the one that Steve Ferguson is excited about, and I can hardly wait to try it myself.

If this seems to be at all like the Sam Gnagey horns, there is a reason. I have long noted that the old King 2341's were very much like a 5/4 York, except that they had a traditional yellow brass bell and a smaller-bore valveset than the 5/4 Yorks. As I've said elsewhere, I've found out that the primary difference in the 4/4 and 5/4 Yorks was the length of the bell and taper, as the starting-, and ending dimensions are the same. So, if you take an old King body, put a shorter York bell on it, and do a little cutting, you essentially have a York 4/4 CC tuba. And, Sam has made a lot of people happy with his horns.

If the rotor appears to be somewhat larger, it is probably because this is not a standard rotor, but one of Kanstul's design which has a larger casing. It is a constant-flow rotor, sort-of a higher-tech version of some other valves out there, a real engineering marvel. Kanstul uses these rotors on his contrabass trombone, too.

I have really enjoyed playing the Kanstul model 33 BBb's and model 66 monster Eb's, and am excited to experience the first American-made true copies of the 4/4 York in CC.