Wessex Prague " Pocket Kaiser"

[Lectron]

It has some similareties with the Thomann Bb- Tuba Model "Student"

I don't know where that is made, but it is not JinBao - they do not use red brass.

No of course they don't. They would use an identical ally referred to as Gold Brass

[Wyvern]

No of course they don't. They would use an identical ally referred to as Gold Brass

Gold brass and Red brass are quite different - Red brass is higher copper content and looks copper in colour. Picture I previously posted of Gold brass Neptune against Red Brass Cerveny clearly shows difference. I have visited Thomann when in Germany and seen what they are selling - it is Red Brass

[Lectron]

Thanks for clearing that up Neptune
I was totally fooled by the jinbao picture of gold brass

trmb&tuba.jpg

[ghmerrill]

Here's a quote from a horn site (http://www.rjmartz.com/horns/) concerning the distinctions among yellow, red, and gold brass. It matches what I've seen elsewhere (except in various sales/marketing literature ):

Several terms are used popularly to describe brass alloys depending on the percentage of copper content: "red" brass contains 85 to 90 percent copper and 15 to 10 percent zinc. At the other extreme is "yellow" brass with about 65 percent copper and 35 percent zinc. In between are "rose" brass (lighter red) and "gold" brass (darker yellow) which are sometimes used interchangeably with each other. The metallurgy industry uses specific terms such as Alloy C83400 (90% copper, 10% zinc) to avoid ambiguity.

I've elsewhere seen the distinction drawn as: yellow brass, ~70% copper; gold brass, ~80% copper; red brass, ~90% copper. A "golder" color is also often achieved by using a specific lacquer.

Some people call yellow brass "gold brass", some people call red brass "gold brass", some people call some in-between alloy "gold brass". Red brass and rose brass are generally regarded as the same. The red/rose stuff is pretty soft (as expected with all that copper in it). My Cerveny 781 certainly was, as was the bell on my Holton TR181 bass trombone.

[Doug Elliott]

And to make it even more confusing, in the metal industry, the alloy that is 90% copper/10% zinc is known as "commercial bronze."

[ghmerrill]

And to make it even more confusing, in the metal industry, the alloy that is 90% copper/10% zinc is known as "commercial bronze."

Which is REALLY weird since, for example, no one would make a weapon out of that "bronze" and trying to put an edge on it would be an exercise in futility. The bronze I have lying around is pretty hard stuff. I thought that bronze required tin. Silly me. Apparently for marketing purposes, "commercial bronze" sounds better than "soft brass".

[Tubajug]

Thanks to all for their not so very informative feedback. However I fail to see the humor

That's the beauty of TubeNet! You can start a thread, but you can't really control where it goes!

[GvB]

Despite the smart *** comments about sandwiches and other juvenile posts I decided to post my opinion of this tuba because I respect the people at Wessex and was very happy with their service. The horn was shipped from England and arrived in perfect condition.
It is not a light weight chintzy feeling horn, lots of heft but well balanced. Blows freely either soft or loud. The rotary valves were a bit noisy at first but with some oil in the right places they have quieted down and work very smoothly. I would choose this horn any day over my King 2341. Maybe the King was a dud from the get go but I never liked it.Especially the number one valve that no matter what I tried always seemed to start sticking in the middle of a concert.
I think this is a great horn for the money. I got the lacquer model because I liked the way it looked better than the Silver model.
My one beef is that I have a smaller hand and the thumb ring was a stretch for me. Once I got used to it though it is fine.
All in all a bargain at the price.

[GvB]

I've had this horn for 4 months now and every time I play it I like it even more. Free blowing, more so than my King 2341.Never liked the piston valves on the 2341. Maybe I got a bad one but the number one valve continually stuck just when I didn't need it to in the middle of a concert. I wanted a horn as close to my old MW 18 as possible without paying $ 8,000 and I believe I have found it. Bigger sound than the MW as it is a slightly larger bore and overall size. I'm happy with this horn and would not hesitate to recommend it.

[Greg Lecewicz]

4 grand for it? Looks great but it should cost maybe the same as the Luzern or less cause there is way less metal in it. So why the full size is 2500 and the mini version 4000 bucks?

[Greg Lecewicz]

I was talking to a student of mine about that today. Looking at the Leadpipe, they could have placed the locking collar a few inches more toward the mouthpiece, and braced the remaining pipe, to give it stability with the valve section.

nice horn, terrible design
If I owned one, I would solder the dang leadpipe in place and forget about the whole removable aspect of it

How about adding an extra one, it should be easy with a silver one. Not good for lacquer version thou...