Double tuba?

[J.c. Sherman]

It's essentially a full double tuba (with a tapered section on each side) with 6 valves and one change valve; it can be played like a typical 3 valve King. I really liked it; you never need more than 2 valves.

J.c.S.

[imperialbari]

Klaus - it took some digging as the auction was ended early, but here is a link to the original page:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 720wt_1119

Scroll down and it should be there, at least for a while.

Thanks for the link!

As for the large bore I see two possibilities:

The seller has measured the outside diameter of the 2nd valve male branch (or possibly measured the main tuning slide).

Or this compensating double tuba was set up to work optimally on the BBb side with the F side as a help-out in the high range.

Klaus

[Art Hovey]

I played on a similar instrument in a small brass instrument shop in Hamburg back in 1962. It wasn't bad as an F tuba, but when shifted into BBb it was way too stuffy for me. The bore size may have been part of the problem, but the other part was the fact that in BBb the air had to go through both sets of valve tubing, which involved a lot of turns and constrictions. As mentioned above, it's more of a compensating system rather than a true double horn.

[J.c. Sherman]

The better compensating tubas have a conical element, as you know; the Besson families, for instance, have a large bore in the BBb (or FFF) tubing, which can somewhat open that predicted stuffiness.

But a 5 valve tuba is every bit as cylindrical as a 4v compensating instrument... it's the same length of tubing added. Some 5v tubas do have larger 4th and 5th valves (my Kalison has neither)... but the bore profile is the same as it would/could be if compensating; just fewer bends.

The best horns have the most conical tubing, IMHO. Paxman horns are a complete delight - on several, the F tubing is larger than the Bb tubing, allowing a taper in the added F plumbing. They're practically self-playing horns.

All this is to say that compensating instruments basically have one challenge - the added bends - which someone should work on, IMHO. They can be played around. This tuba has conveniently added a second problem, by making the lower pitch extra low for added stuffiness and lack of a low B fingering

J.c.S.

[bububassboner]

I just played one of these Alexander Double tubas at the Alex shop in Mainz yesterday. I thought it was a great horn. Didn't have any of the weird low C problems and really was not a heavy horn. The double valves were a little slow, but that was due to it sitting in a window for who knows how long. I would say the low end was better than almost every rotor F tuba I have ever played. Still was no Yamaha down low but it still had that wonderful Alexander sound up high. I wouldn't use the CC side for anything above C below the staff though, and from what my wife tells me (a very fine horn player) most horn players use their horns that way too. If I had the euro for it I would have taken it home with me. Don't write these types of tubas off just because someone played a 60 year old horn and found it stuffy.

[sousaphone68]

What was its price please?