H.N.White King 1216

[Shane]

I've found a silver plated H.N.White King 1216 Monster Bass from the 20s or 30s that I'm looking to buy. My budget is around $3000 and the seller is asking $3400. This will be used in a community band. I can't find hardly any information on this horn but the seller sent me a video of it being played, it sounds awesome. I will of course play it myself before buying it. It has recently had a valve job and all the major dents removed. Does anyone have any information on these horns and would this be a good buy? I know parts for it are probably nowhere to be found and expensive if you can find them. I've also found a Mirafone 186 from the 60s but it's ugly lol. I've been looking for awhile and haven't come up with too much and I'm really not crazy about the Chinese horns. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Shane]

The seller is in the process of getting more pictures this is the one I have for now. Unfortunately I can't upload the video because it's a link to a private Facebook account.

[SousaWarrior9]

Looks like a really cool horn. If it's in good shape, that could be a real player. Old Kings are great.

[Donn]

I'm sure it's a good player, borderline awesome, but ... $3400?

I guess you'll know when you play it, but try to get some time in on other used tubas in that range, so you'll have some basis for comparison. It looks to me like the "cool" factor contributes substantially to the price, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's also nice to get a really good player for that kind of money.

[KingBassTrombone]

The 1216 is, as far as I can tell, very similar to the 1241. The valves are at a slightly different angle, but the bore is still 0.687". It's a "monster" bass but it's not much larger in volume than a 1241. That tuba has passed my dashboard before- the owner described that it plays like a post-H.N. White King, but better in every way

[EdFirth]

I've seen pictures of Connie Weldon with one of these.

[Mark E. Chachich]

Connie Weldon has a King with three valves. She told me that it is her favorite tuba.
I studied with Connie at the University of Miami, she is a great teacher and musician.

Mark

[Donn]

That looks like a different tuba to me. On ebay, the bell appears to be covered with patches, that I can't see any trace of in the photo above; the valve caps and buttons look different, the finish and dent situation looks different, maybe one or two more things. I don't see the seller saying "valve job", but it may have had one. The bell patches are the main thing, never seen anything like it.

[Kirley]

Their 3rd valve wraps are also different. Not to mention the new-style "oversized" finger buttons/valve caps on the eBay horn.

I'm firmly in the "$3400 seems too high" camp. But if it's totally awesome, then...

[Donn]

I thought the apparently different finish was interesting. I guess it could be just the outdoor vs. indoor lighting, but the ebay tuba has a more satin look. As might be expected, as the HN White catalogues generally offer satin silver, and this (the $3400 one) could be a replate, but I have a vague recollection that it isn't the first bright silver King I've seen pictures of.