Horn Opinion Time: King 2341

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Fri May 19, 2006 1:37 pm

LoyalTubist wrote:UMI is no longer with us. The company is now, officially, Conn-Selmer and, besides those two brands, includes King, Benge, and Leblanc (Holton). The company is owned by the Steinway Piano Company.

Otherwise known as the cyborg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Fri May 19, 2006 1:40 pm

iiipopes wrote:
Philip Jensen wrote:these can be very good horns - if you can find a well made one.
None of the above.

They aren't very good, or you can't find a well made one?

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Fri May 19, 2006 10:05 pm

windshieldbug wrote:
iiipopes wrote:
Philip Jensen wrote:these can be very good horns - if you can find a well made one.
None of the above.
They aren't very good, or you can't find a well made one?

The "None of the above" was referring to Philip Jensen's speculation as to why the bottom bow purchased to fix one of his tubas fit so well, and why his York and his King sound similar. The common person involved, as set forth above, is Reynolds. It did not refer to the quality of King instruments in general, which I rate very highly, especially the pre-cyborg instruments.

tofu · Post by **tofu** » Sat May 20, 2006 4:56 pm

TubaTuck wrote:Cats:

The King 2341 is inbound!

Should arrive in about 4 or 5 days.

Bought it from Baltimore Brass. They only had two silvers in stock. Dave Fedderly played them both (Thanks, Rick Denney, for the suggestion) and picked one. He then said he "tweeked" it a little, packaged it up and its on it way.

I'll do a thorough side-by-side with the 3301 and will make arrangements for Marke Wolfe to play/evaluate this horn.

I was fortunate enough over a 10 year period to drive Corvettes (4 different cars) and, I tell you, I think I'm as excited about the arrival of this horn as I ever was about getting another Vette!

As the color on my wife's home pregnancy test changed from white to pink, I could literally see my 2001 Z06 evaporate into a lovely silver mist out in my driveway.

The Vettes are gone, probably never to return, but, by golly, she'll NEVER GET MY KING!!!!!! NEVER!!!!!

Thanks again, cats, as always for the very useful input.

I'll let you know when the new addition arrives.

Tuck

Congratulations - now all you need to do is to get the first dent to christen it and believe me that 20 inch bell sometimes feels like you're manuevering the Queen Mary in dock when you're going through doorways! The only horn I own that my Vette will hold is a trombone and even that doesn't fit well.

Fast cars like fast women don't seem to go together with tubas.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Sat May 20, 2006 5:26 pm

iiipopes wrote:The "None of the above" was referring to Philip Jensen's speculation as to why the bottom bow purchased to fix one of his tubas fit so well, and why his York and his King sound similar.

I was just kidding! (what a shock!

)

Lew · Post by **Lew** » Mon May 22, 2006 10:59 am

Good luck with the new horn. When I got back into playing after an 18 year hiatus I started on the old style (2-piece) King 2341. I found it a great horn to get back into shape on. When the new King 2341s (one piece) came out I bought one and have never found a BBb tuba that I found to play significantly better. I have owned a VMI 3302 (5 valve version of the 3301) and found the King to be a better player in tone, intonation, and response. I do find that the King slots very readily, the result being that there isn't as much room to lip notes and the false tones aren't easily attainable for me, but intonation on mine is spot on, so I never worried about these issues.

As others have mentioned, there does seem to be some variability among individual samples of this horn, so make sure to take full advantage of the trial period.

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Mon May 22, 2006 1:47 pm

Hey Tubatuck: good luck! I hope you are as happy with your King as I have been with my Besson, and I am really enjoying my Besson!

trseaman · Post by **trseaman** » Fri May 26, 2006 5:00 pm

Hey Tuck,

I have praised my old 2341 for the past few years. It's been a good horn to me and we work well together. Today I had an opportunity to play a "new" 2341 at Anaheim Band. It played much like my old horn but had all the newer gadgets of the new horns. The valves (as you also mentioned) sounded a little clunky but there are work-arounds for that issue! Because I've been so comfortable with my old horn and since this new King was so similar, I wouldn't hesitate one second to buy a "new" 2341...

Good luck with yours!

Tim