Helicon - strange tubing

[butch]

Hey

I found this on ebay. The tubing looks strange.

http://www.ebay.ch/itm/ANTIQUE-TUBA-HEL ... 417b29c5ce

Butch

[Heavy_Metal]

Cool horn!

Helicons were originally designed for use in mounted cavalry bands, where you played while riding your horse, so that tubing configuration might have been made to help physically balance the horn. However, the bell looks big enough that the wind could catch it at just the right angle, and if the wind was strong enough the player might have trouble holding on........

[The Big Ben]

Wonder if it really is in BBb. It looks more like Eb/F.

On Cerveny's helicon page, they have photos of two helicons- one in BBb and one in F. The instrument on Ebay looks more like the F. Doesn't appear to have enough tubing to be in BBb.

http://www.cerveny.biz/helikone/" target="_blank

[Donn]

It does have the F helicon's typical form, but see that big main tuning slide? See how long the second valve tubing is? If you could follow all the tubing, from the pictures, you could estimate how much is there, based on an 18 inch bell for dimensional reference, but I think it's not unreasonable to take his word for it.

[sugawi]

BBb on Cerveny site has extra wrap around main body and F does not. Ebay helicon 100 cm long while Cerveny F 110 cm and Cerveny BBb 115 cm. Does not look like it has enough tubing after valve section to make it BBb since it's missing that extra wrap.

[The Big Ben]

It could be in Eb...

That was a thought also. Unfortunately, the Cerveny site does not have a picture of their Eb helicon. The 'extra long' slide in the Ebay picture could be a longer slide to put the F horn in Eb,

[sugawi]

Few pictures of Eb:
http://www.horn-u-copia.net/picture.php ... elicon.jpg
http://musicalinstruments4.blogspot.com ... 5.html?m=1

[Donn]

Their Eb model in its more recent form is a complete circle.


The "Machuta" on EBay is BBb.

[butch]

It went for about 840 $, I don't know who got it. I didn't.

Butch

[bigtubby]

Cool horn!

Helicons were originally designed for use in mounted cavalry bands, where you played while riding your horse, so that tubing configuration might have been made to help physically balance the horn. However, the bell looks big enough that the wind could catch it at just the right angle, and if the wind was strong enough the player might have trouble holding on........

The next generation - with helicons down to baritone or so size:

[Donn]

Thanks for that! I had no idea. Wonder where they get those baritone helicons?

[The Big Ben]

Thanks for that! I had no idea. Wonder where they get those baritone helicons?

I am almost speechless. They should be the entire halftime show at the Super Bowl.

[bigtubby]

Thanks for that! I had no idea. Wonder where they get those baritone helicons?

I've wondered that myself. Probably carefully maintained oldies or some specialty house like Schagerl or Adams?