American Horns part 2

[USStuba04]

what else do you guys consider to be american horns??

nirschl's, mw, hb,??????

they have copies of yorks...so does that make them american?


(i guess we had nothing else to talk about that weekend... )

[Paul Scott]

I'll second the vote for Martins-I believe they are great representatives of of the American tuba design/sound.

[USStuba04]

maybe some one could post a few pictures of the martins or email me some pictures...i am not very familiar with them

[Lew]

Here you go:



I consider this a real American horn. Yes it has rotary valves, but it has a big bottom end sound, and it was made in Cleveland, OH. (Bill Bell model H.N. White King made in the 1930s)

[Dan Schultz]

maybe some one could post a few pictures of the martins or email me some pictures...i am not very familiar with them
usstuba04@yahoo.com

Me 'n my Martin 'Mammoth' BBb sousa

[Kevin Hendrick]

is york american??

Might want to take a look at this:

http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jswai ... orkres.htm

Hmmm ... "J.W. York and Sons, Grand Rapids, MI" ... kinda sounds American to me.

[Lew]

There's this Martin, although it is now in France.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

[Rick Denney]

what else do you guys consider to be american horns??

nirschl's, mw, hb,??????

they have copies of yorks...so does that make them american?


(i guess we had nothing else to talk about that weekend... )

The Navajo tribe is well-known for their weavings (that's "rugs" to normal people). They are made in a variety of styles based on the various trading centers on the Navajo Reservation. Thus, they are called Crystal, Two Gray Hills, Ganado, and so on. Originally, they were called that because the Two Gray Hills style was started by weavers in the Two Gray Hills area. But now, all the various styles are made in all regions, and to some extent blended.

It's the same with tubas. To me, a tuba is American if it's made in America (I'll leave it to you to decide which America you want to discuss--I'm talking here about America, United States of), just as a British tuba is made in Great Britain, or an Italian tuba is made in Italy.

But there are American-style tubas made all over, just as there are and have been British-style tubas made in many places and German-style tubas made in many places.

To me, the front-action piston tuba is a uniquely American style, despite that the original Wieprecht basstuba was nominally a front-action piston instrument. The American style also emphasizes a short, fat configuration. The front-action rotary tuba is a uniquely German style, despite that the first ones might have been made in what is now the Czech Republic. They are also tall and narrow in comparison to the American style. The top-action piston tuba is more French than British, but it's still the British style, especially when accompanied by compensating valves.

And, as with Navaho rugs, there is a lot of blending. There are fat rotary tubas with wide bell flares, front-action piston tubas with a decidedly German taper design, and so on. My Japanese F tuba has an American-style configuration with front-action pistons, but a British-style taper design on the outer branches.

Most of the classic U.S. brands have shut down. There is the Holton Harvey Phillips model (other Holtons are rebadged Yamahas), the Conn 5xJ, the similar King 2341, and the Conn and King sousaphones. For a while there was the Getzen, though perhaps "assembled in the U.S." is more accurate. But Martin, Olds, Reynolds, York, and a range of other old names are represented either in history alone or as mere labels on instruments made elsewhere. Thus, there are few American tubas, but lots of American-style tubas.

Rick "noting that stylistic differences will eventually be mixed together" Denney

[Lee Stofer]

American tubas? There were a number of manufacturers at one time that made tubas in this country, but for a variety of reasons, the vast majority of them no longer exist.

To the best of my knowledge, there are basically two tuba manufacturers left in the US. Conn-Selmer-LeBlanc offers the Conn 52/54/56J CC tubas and King 2341 BBb tuba, and there is at least limited production of the Conn 20K sousaphone. I cannot verify, but have been led to believe that the current King 2350 sousaphone is out-sourced, and will leave it at that.
Kanstul Musical Instruments, of Anaheim, CA, is where more tuba- and euphonium-making activity is taking place than anywhere else in North America. I've had the pleasure of playing their BBb and CC tubas, as well as euphoniums, and am happy to report that American tuba-making is alive and well. The 5/4 BBb is reportedly based upon measurements of old York and Martin tubas, and the 3/4 CC has a distinctive vintage American flavor, too. And, one sign of a good, healthy manufacturer to me is the willingness to do custom work. Such is the case at Kanstul.

There are South American tubas, also, from Weril in Sao Paulo, Brazil. founded by an immigrant from Austria about 100 years ago, the modern Weril instruments benefit from a variety of influences, and compare favorably to the Yamaha student-line or intermediate instruments.

Anyone can make an American-style instrument, but at present, only Kanstul, Conn/King, or Weril tubas are American tubas.