Zeiss Tuba Question

The bulk of the musical talk
Post Reply
lprestenbach
lurker
lurker
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:44 pm

Zeiss Tuba Question

Post by lprestenbach »

Would this Ziess tuba be in the key of BBb or CC? Would it be worth to purchase for under $1000 with no case?
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
iiipopes
Utility Infielder
Utility Infielder
Posts: 8581
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2005 1:10 am

Re: Zeiss Tuba Question

Post by iiipopes »

With the height of the body compared to the bell, and the "dogleg" going into the main tuning slide, this is probably BBb. Does it blow? Any tuba in good condition that will play even marginally well is worth $1K. Like many rotaries, it may have the "flat fifth partial" syndrome.
Jupiter JTU1110
"Real" Conn 36K
Heavy_Metal
5 valves
5 valves
Posts: 1734
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:42 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA

Re: Zeiss Tuba Question

Post by Heavy_Metal »

I'll vote BBb too. If that's what you're looking for, you could do a lot worse.

Karl Ziess was a stencil name- different manufacturers made tubas for whoever used this name. Several possibilities are Boland & Fuchs, Cerveny and B&S. This one isn't a B&S. Someone like TubaTinker would probably recognize it.

But for that price? Buy it, as long as it's in the key you want and works reasonably well, even if it needs a little TLC. These horns were generally good players, and some could be better than good.
Principal tuba, Bel Air Community Band
Old (early 1900s?) Alexander BBb proto-163
1976 Sonora (B&S 101) 4-rotor BBb
1964 Conn 20J/21J BBb (one body, both bells)
~1904 York 3P BBb Helicon
Old Alex Comp.F, in shop
User avatar
Dan Schultz
TubaTinker
TubaTinker
Posts: 10427
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:46 pm
Location: Newburgh, Indiana
Contact:

Re: Zeiss Tuba Question

Post by Dan Schultz »

As another poster already mentioned... this is not a B & S/VMI. The chance of it being a CC is very slim. Sometimes characteristics are difficult to catagorize because hardware components could have been purchased from several manufacturers. The harness loop backing plates look Alex. The brace between the main tuning slide and bottom bow looks like Bohland & Fuchs. The backing plate on the thumbring looks Amati/Cerveny.

I think I'll go with Bohland & Fuchs on this one.
Dan Schultz
"The Village Tinker"
http://www.thevillagetinker.com" target="_blank
Current 'stable'... Rudolf Meinl 5/4, Marzan (by Willson) euph, King 2341, Alphorn, and other strange stuff.
pigman
bugler
bugler
Posts: 110
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:19 pm
Location: long Island, NY

Re: Zeiss Tuba Question

Post by pigman »

ITS AN AMAITI MODEL 68
Post Reply