A 1928 Conn 32J lives on (thanks, Lee Stofer)

[Conn 2J CC]

My namesake on Tubenet (a Conn 2J CC, circa 1971) now has another family member in the house - this past spring, I bought a Conn 32J BBb (circa 1928) from a friend. Wow, what a horn! It weighs 24 pounds, and has a 22 inch bell. Given its comparitive age and size, I'm referring to the 32J as the 2J's grandfather.

I'm been wanting a significantly larger BBb for some time, and this will be an enjoyable classic Tuba to get acquainted with. It did need some help though, so I took it to Lee Stofer. He and his assistant did a terrific job working on it, as usual (thanks, Lee). Besides chemically flushing the horn and removing some dents, they rebuilt the 1st valve slide so it goes up, added a water key on the bottom of it, shortened the 3rd and 4th slides, polished the valves, vented them, replaced their metal guides with delrin guides, realigned them, and touched up the lacquer. I'm pleased - it has a very rich, full sound, articulates easily, and I’m looking forward to using it in a concert sometime. I'm favoring a Stofer Gieb copy mouthpiece for the 2J, and a Perantucci PT-88 for the 32J.

Here are some pictures of the two horns for comparison. Eventually I may post a short video of me playing them, too. Enjoy the horn dorn -


A - Conn 2J (L) and Conn 32J (R) - pre-32J shop visit


B - 2J and 32J - pre-shop visit


C - The 32J making the 2J look like a Euphonium


D - The 32J's new 1st valve slide


E - A very concerned pussycat looking on

[edsel585960]

That is a lot of horn. Looks great.

[arpthark]

Fantastic! I have always thought that Conn 2Js are such fun instruments to play. They are great CC solo/quintet horns, in my view. The smaller bore makes them a bit more nimble. Looks like the 32J is a great complement for it. My alma mater had a pair of 2Js with the nickel-plated inner bell. Sweet little tubas, but beat to #%$& from 40 years of undergrads hauling them around. Glad to see yours is in great shape.

[tuba_jon]

My namesake on Tubenet (a Conn 2J CC, circa 1971) now has another family member in the house - this past spring, I bought a Conn 32J BBb (circa 1928) from a friend. Wow, what a horn! It weighs 24 pounds, and has a 22 inch bell. Given its comparitive age and size, I'm referring to the 32J as the 2J's grandfather.

I'm been wanting a significantly larger BBb for some time, and this will be an enjoyable classic Tuba to get acquainted with. It did need some help though, so I took it to Lee Stofer. He and his assistant did a terrific job working on it, as usual (thanks, Lee). Besides chemically flushing the horn and removing some dents, they rebuilt the 1st valve slide so it goes up, added a water key on the bottom of it, shortened the 3rd and 4th slides, polished the valves, vented them, replaced their metal guides with delrin guides, realigned them, and touched up the lacquer. I'm pleased - it has a very rich, full sound, articulates easily, and I’m looking forward to using it in a concert sometime. I'm favoring a Stofer Gieb copy mouthpiece for the 2J, and a Perantucci PT-88 for the 32J.

Here are some pictures of the two horns for comparison. Eventually I may post a short video of me playing them, too. Enjoy the horn dorn -


A - Conn 2J (L) and Conn 32J (R) - pre-32J shop visit


B - 2J and 32J - pre-shop visit


C - The 32J making the 2J look like a Euphonium


D - The 32J's new 1st valve slide


E - A very concerned pussycat looking on

Hey Conn,

I'm borrowing the same horn from a friend and for the life of me... the F/E/Eb are all 1/2 step flat no matter how far i push the tuning slides in. All the tones with the same fingerings in other registers are spot on. Do you have the same issue with your horn?

[Conn 2J CC]

Hi tuba_jon -

A half step flat? Wow, that’s significant. Bear in mind that I mentioned two different horns in this post – a Conn 2J CC, and a Conn 32J BBb. I’m going to assume that you’re referring to the 32J, and right below the staff.

On mine I found that partial slightly harder to center in on than elsewhere on the horn, but not so much as to be annoying or unmanageable, so no, I didn’t have the same issue you’ve got. And maybe that centering problem was just me – when Lee Stofer played it, everything sounded great. Lee did shorten slides on mine (as mentioned), but the first and second valve slides were not.

Maybe someone else will chime in here on this issue, but my first thoughts would be to make sure all airways through your horn are clear (no build-up in the pipes either), and check the alignment of your valves, both in the up and down positions. Are any of the valves in the wrong casings, too? Any of that could contribute to your problem.

And FYI, I took my Conn 32J BBb Tuba that you see pictured here back up to Lee’s shop a couple of weeks ago, and traded it in for a Rudolf Meine five rotary CC horn. So, if anyone here is looking for a classic huge Conn BBb, contact Lee about this one.

I hope this helps -