Amazing Tuba Collection

Liberty Mo · Post by **Liberty Mo** » Mon May 02, 2005 8:29 am

I stumbled across a wonderful collection of old tubas. Looks like they have updated their webpage at Tuba Exchange. All personal issues with the establishment aside, this is an amazing collection of horns. I wonder if they are still played, it would be a shame to let some of these old horns sit in a storage room. Some great Martins, Yorks, Conns, etc. I would love to get my hands on a couple of those big York EEbs.

Does anyone else have a horn collection with photos to be shared?

http://www.tubaexchange.com/historic_co ... museum.asp#

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Mon May 02, 2005 11:13 am

Very nice.

Rick Denney · Post by **Rick Denney** » Mon May 02, 2005 4:39 pm

Jonathantuba wrote:What intrigued me was the Alexander EEb from c1890 with rotary valves.
It made me wonder if they used EEb tubas in Germany at that time? It certainly looks like a classic German tuba, so I would not have thought it was produced for export?

They may have used them in bands. Remember that Wieprecht started the trend to F with his first instrument, but Sax's instruments were all in Bb and Eb. By the turn of the last century, Sax had proved to be the better marketer, and I expect Alexander found a good market for Eb tubas.

David Bragunier played a very similar Kruspe Eb tuba at the Army conference last year.

Rick "who wishes the link to the image of York F/BBb double wasn't busted" Denney

hendra_tuba · Post by **hendra_tuba** » Mon May 02, 2005 8:14 pm

Mike Lynch, an all around great guy and sometimes visitor to this board, has a very extensive collection of instruments. Maybe, if we're very nice he'll post some pics of the more unique tubas that he has! (The LYON, Mike!!!! or the Big CONN!!)
Travis Hendra

Art Hovey · Post by **Art Hovey** » Mon May 02, 2005 11:36 pm

The Huttl rotary BBb caught my attention. I played on a similar tuba a couple of times here in CT. (Could it be the same one?) Very large bore, magnificent tone and volume in the LOW register, but lousy in the middle and high registers; just the opposite of many other german-style tubas. Nobody could figure out why.

http://www.tubaexchange.com/historic_co ... s/1440.JPG

Highams · Post by **Highams** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:06 am

Excellent. The Besson tag no.200321 is an 'Enharmonic' euphonium, the same as I have in my collection;

http://www.euph9.freeserve.co.uk/neweuph.htm

Not seen a 6 valve like the Mahillon before with 4+2!

CB

Shockwave · Post by **Shockwave** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:50 am

I count 187 instruments on the tuba exchange collection page. That is an awful lot for one guy to own.

The instruments I really want to see like the old saxhorns and jumbo sousaphones dont seem to have pictures. Just my luck.

-Eric

Lew · Post by **Lew** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:26 am

tuben wrote:Yeah, it's a great collection, with some really interesting horns. Too bad SO many of those great looking, and I'm sure sounding horns are just on display and not being played daily by great players.
I recall reading somewhere that brass is actually 'alive'. It benefits from being played, and the vibrations that go along with that. I also read that if some horns are not played for a long period of time (years), they die. They cease to be resonant, and the brass dies.

Robert Coulter

It is too bad that they don't get played, but I doubt very much if not playing has any impact on the brass. That's like the trumpet players who claim that a horn has been "blown out" by too much playing. Can't happen. The only thing that can happen is a leak in tubing or the valves. I have seen many horns that have been rescued from a barn where they sat for 50 years or more turn out to be great players.

Brass can become brittle over the years, but that would be from oxidation, not from lack of playing.