Sold: 36J 6/4 BBb with Siegfried Bell $5,500.00

[akniffen]

This is an unlacquered 4 piston with no dents. The valves are in good condition, having been recently overhauled. The pitch is quite good. I have used my Nirschl exclusively for a long time, but my memory of the pitch is that the F is not terribly flat - the Siegfried bell probably helped that. The D in the staff was a little off, but 1 and 2 is not uncommonly used for the that.

Most notable is the response. The horn has had the big Conn guards replaced with thin narrow guards and the bell is relatively light. It is very even and responds more like a CC than a BBb - very facile and articulate. It may be one of the lightest 6/4 BBbs you'll see.

36J valves are incredible - they are not like the 2XJ series with the squashed ports - these ports are very clear and open. The sound is very clear and powerful, in particular the low register, but the middle and high are very accessible and articulate across the range. If you wanted to play a solo on a 6/4 BBb, this horn would be a good choice.

The slide wrap has been changed to make it more accessible for tuning. The first, third and fourth slides have been shortened - old style pitch solutions favored much longer slides than we use today.

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I recorded it next to my Nirschl with my section on some licks from Shostakovich 10 and was shocked at how much presence, clarity and color it has. A BBb player who gigs a fair amount and puts me to shame, frankly, sounded great on it and was pleased with the pitch. I took it off the market for that reason, but have worked out things with the Nirschl - it plays the heavy end of the repertoire better now. This BBb was listed at 5,500. I was told that was too low, but I do need to move it.

The work was done by Martin Wilk. The tuning slide was made by Martin. The horn is located in Indianapolis. I am sorry to part with it, but my wife just bought a new viola bow and we're remodeling the masterbath. Both more than worth it, but not inexpensive!

Tony Kniffen

[jonesbrass]

Sweet!

[Ken Crawford]

Titillating...

[groovlow]

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb4 ... 170038.jpg

AMAZING

[bort]

is right!

[Timswisstuba]

Those look like new tuning slides. Nice work from Martin Wilk.

[TUbajohn20J]

Good God! No words at all. If I had the money I'd buy this in a heartbeat.

[staff]

I need to take her out for dinner and a movie.

[Tabor]

Low low price for a Wilk-ized 6/4, I think.

[staff]

Here's to hoping Tony changes his mind and puts this guy up on the market again.

[MikeMason]

Hmm. I suppose there are several 36js around and Siegfried bells to be had. What would it cost to make up some of these? If they play that well, could be a market. Heck, I might like one for certain occasions.

[akniffen]

Since this has generated some questions and discussion, I'll do my best to answer. I'm not a qualified tech, Martin Wilk is the one to ask some of these questions.

The bell ferrule is not the same size. In order to have the horn play at roughly 440, the bell had to be cut a little shorter - meaning wider - at the small end than the 36J ferrule could take, and the ferrule either had to be altered/widened to fit it or a new one had to be made. It has been a while, so I don't remember which was done. It's not a huge step taper, but if you look inside the bell you can see that the ferrule doesn't fit. It looks like it doesn't fit by about the thickness of the metal in the bell. If I had it to do over again, I might have looked into the new large version of the Miraphone Hagan bell. This bell sounds very good, but it takes me some practice to get the soft playing to work, and it strikes me as a 'big bell' issue. It could just be a 'tony needs to practice more' issue. I rarely play BBb.

I have not played this in the orchestra. After trying so many different BBbs and working out so many issues and spending a fair amount of money, I simply wore out on the whole avenue. Recently, we did Shostakovitch 10 in the ISO. I got together after it was all done with the bones and recorded with my Nirschl and this 36J/Siegfried bell on the second page all the way to the top of pg 3 in the first movement. I was very pleased with both using the PT-50. The BBb has a big, clear piston sound without a cloud and the response/ease of playing was fantastic. The Holton valves compare favorably with the Nirschl with MAW valves in it. I find the pitch very manageable on this very chromatic passage - quite good, in fact. I would like a 5th valve on it, still, though simply for the ease. It's performance in the session is why I decided not to sell, along with a conversation with the first person to play the horn.

Another big reason I am on the fence about selling it is cash flow and sale price. My wife and I have made this year a year to get a lot of stuff done that we have put off. We're doing it, but it's tough. I put 9k into this horn and did not expect to have to sell it, nor do expect to get 9 out of it. However, after I put it on the market and a great BBb player played it, I was told that 5.5k is way too low. So this is why I'm holding off on selling it - I really have no idea what to do and am too busy to deal with the decision, and it looks really bad to change the price higher. I've also lately become more comfortable with using the Nirschl on what I think of as BBb repertoire using bigger mouthpieces.

Tony

[bort]

9k is a much more sobering and realistic number for that badass tuba. I mean, that were possible for only 5.5k...

[MikeMason]

I would love to hear that recording, Tony! We are doing the 10th in my orchestra in 2 weeks.

[akniffen]

bump

I edited the first posting to reflect the current status: yes, it's for sale.

Tony

[akniffen]

Bump

[thevillagetuba]

Not a potential buyer, but the first post's title still says "Sold," though you have bumped it earlier which makes me think this didn't sell?

Just trying to help clarify.

[akniffen]

People expressed interest, so I wanted to publicize that it was sold. Maybe I should have left it with 'sold.'