"King Symphony" model opinions?

[joeltruher]

Hi,

Borodi is selling two similar King "Symphony" model (maybe 1240?) tubas on ebay at the moment. Does anyone have an opinion on this model? I'm still looking for a community band horn.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KING-3V-SYMPHON ... 247wt_1398" target="_blank" target="_blank

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KING-SYMPHONY-S ... 211wt_1398" target="_blank" target="_blank


Joel

[EdFirth]

They are easy to play and sound great. These two horns tune from the bottom on the first valve slide so if you want in tune C's B's(below the staff) and the ability to tweak other first valve or first valve combination notes you would either want to have the first slide switched around to pull from the top or get the tuning rod that Don Butterfield liked put on. I've owned several of these and they are very fine horns. Ed

[b.williams]

I have owned a couple of 3 and 4 valve King Symphony BBb tubas. They are very nimble, efficient tubas. They are pretty consistent from horn to horn. They can be used in just about any playing situation. I recommend them.

[joeltruher]

Thanks for the replies! The tuning rod sounds like a good idea.

Does anyone know any tubists in the Cleveland area whom I could persuade to check out the horns in person? I'm in California.

[Dan Schultz]

Those are plain old King 1240 tubas. Most that I've seen are good players. The first slide is very easy to reverse and put on top. J. C. Sherman in the Cleveland area.

[NDSPTuba]

IMHO, that is TOO MUCH to pay for 3 bangers. You can get good condition 2341 ( 4 valvers ) for $1500.

[Dan Schultz]

IMHO, that is TOO MUCH to pay for 3 bangers. You can get good condition 2341 ( 4 valvers ) for $1500.

That's 'sort of' true. However... those horns are silver and do come with an upright bell for that price. They appear to be in pretty good shape dent-wise.

It might be a stretch to find a four-valved one in silver and an upright bell for that price.

[joeltruher]

Hm, yeah, I would certainly prefer the 2341 in any finish over the 1240, but I haven't found any for sale at all.

[MikeMason]

an observation: my job involves hearing many school bands at concert contest.The detachable bell king actually sound better out front.I prefer to play the one piece one,but the two piece projects better.This opinion was formed from hearing several high school band tuba sections with each style of king,both bell up.great workhorse tubas,and can be had dirt cheap...

[SousaSaver]

I love these horns.

I have a 1241 that I have modified where I flipped the 1st valve tubing to make it pullable with the left hand, I added a very sturdy pull ring to the second slide and took out the sousa style doubled back look out of the upper third slide crook.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DUUJtXNTpX4/T ... 203738.jpg

The photo is an "in progress" shot. I'm still working on it a little every day whenever I get a few free minutes.

For me, these play really well with a Helleberg 7B. I guess the .687 bore works with a smaller mouthpiece. Who knows?

[toobagrowl]

I played on an old satin-silver King Symphony 1241 (4-valver) my first year of college before transferring to an arts school/conservatory the following year. Good playing horn that was well in-tune and had a sweet rounded sound. I remember it being built like a tank, being heavy and having a huge 22" upright bell. Only 'bad' thing about the horn was that it was somewhat easy for me to overblow/blat on it at high dynamics. Otherwise, it was a great horn and I used it for everything ........before one of the valve stems got bent (had NO idea how that happened ). Luckily, the small college had about 3 other BBb tubas to choose from.

[joeltruher]

@BRSousa, that's a nice looking project!

[The Big Ben]

I owned a 2340 for a few years. It was easy to play and play in tune. I had the front bell most of the time I had it and the sound projected well. When examining how King put these things together, you will see that they are stout as all get-out and are designed to be tough. If it doesn't get vandalized or dropped down a stairway, it will last and last. It did not seem to be picky about the mouthpiece either. As always, you can do the mouthpiece dance but you can plug in a Bach 18 (if you like bowls) or a Helleburg (if you like funnels) and be good to go.

[joeltruher]

thanks for the info. do you remember if you were able to lip C2 and B1 in tune, or did you trombone it? i don't mind tromboning if it's easy. three valves is simpler than four.

did you need to play D3 with 12, or was the open partial close enough?

[Paul Scott]

These are great horns, very well-made and consistent in my experience-and some are downright amazing. They project like crazy (much more than the new model) and if you can find a recording bell and an upright you're pretty much set for most gigs. I prefer the smaller upright bell (can't remember-is it 19 inches?) to the larger 22 inch but I've heard good sounds from both. They're undervalued at the moment and I'd hold out for a 4-valver.

[The Big Ben]

thanks for the info. do you remember if you were able to lip C2 and B1 in tune, or did you trombone it? i don't mind tromboning if it's easy. three valves is simpler than four.

did you need to play D3 with 12, or was the open partial close enough?

I didn't have to do any slide pulling to get notes in tune. I was able to use 'standard' fingerings and any deviation from "in tune" could be handled with ear and lip.

[Dan Schultz]

These are great horns, very well-made and consistent in my experience-and some are downright amazing. They project like crazy (much more than the new model) and if you can find a recording bell and an upright you're pretty much set for most gigs. I prefer the smaller upright bell (can't remember-is it 19 inches?) to the larger 22 inch but I've heard good sounds from both. They're undervalued at the moment and I'd hold out for a 4-valver.

If you plan to have one of these 1241 Kings with BOTH bells... I recommend the 19" upright bell over the 22" one. From my experience... these horns have a better chance at playing in tune with the smaller 19" bell.

These horns were rarely sold new with BOTH bells. The horns with the recording bells had 1" longer ferrules on the main tuning slide. That same horn played with the 22" upright bell tended to play flat whereas the 19" upright bell was OK.

Acoustically, the bigger bell flare is a longer horn.

I prefer the 1240/41 and older 2340/41 (pre-1980/serial number 780900) to the later fixed bell horns hands down.