What's The Best Use For A G Contra

[arpthark]

How big is that thing? The bell shape and outer bows look like the Willson 3050 or 3100.

Agreed. I've never seen one of these big boys in person. Could we get a photo comparison of it vs. one of your Marzans or your 1291, Dan?

[Dan Schultz]

How big is that thing? The bell shape and outer bows look like the Willson 3050 or 3100.

Agreed. I've never seen one of these big boys in person. Could we get a photo comparison of it vs. one of your Marzans or your 1291, Dan?

Here are a few shots of the contra next to a King 1241. As you can see, the perimeter size is not much larger than the King. But... the branches and bows are quite a bit bigger. The bell is 20". The bell you see on the King is one of those rare 19" upright detachable bells.

The best I can figure... the open bugle on the GG is about 4 1/2 feet longer than a BBb tuba.

[emcallaway]

Just for the sake of discussion before it gets Frankensteined...how much would a fool need to pay for the monster?

[tclements]

Flower pot wasn't one of the choices....

[Tubajug]

I like the shoulder-fire BBb idea. That would be better than the convertible tubas made to look like a contra. You would probably have better luck selling it as a concert tuba though. With those big branches it might have a pretty hefty sound to it as a concert horn.

[Dan Schultz]

Flower pot wasn't one of the choices....

No... but... joining the Eb Holton bell in the fish pond was.

[jstrother123]

Here is a group on facebook that has people looking for G bugles - Keep the Old School Alive...Play a "G-BUGLE"!!!

Jim

[TheHatTuba]

Did you ever do anything with this?

[Harvey Hartman]

I say Cut it to BBb and make a Jazzphone out of it. Ask Ian we can do for you..
http://harvshappyhorns.blogspot.com/201 ... phone.html" target="_blank" target="_blank

[imperialbari]

Wouldn’t the real spelling be Giuseppe Weirdo?

[Dan Schultz]

Did you ever do anything with this?

A drum corps in PA is interested in the GG. If they don't buy it in a week or so... I'm just going to set it in the 'projects' room to await being cut to BBb and reconfigured to an upright concert tuba. Willson tubas make very good parts donors.

[Michael Bush]

I was thinking about this horn last night.

If it was a good use of my resources to just spend money on tubas, I'd buy this and ask you to reconfigure it as a concert tuba while leaving it in G. I'm getting ready for a July 4 performance with music that reminds me of drum corps, rooting around in the basement at high volume. This would be just the horn. But it would look odd sitting on my shoulder in the orchestra pit.

[Mcordon1]

Oh, they are fun to play! Serious volume and tone. Don't remember intonation...
We weighed these horns at over 40 pounds. (42 or something). Had 9 in the corps and a friend from Buffalo who owns one!
To my knowledge, the Empire Statesmen D&G Corps still use these.

holding it... The first couple minutes were ok, then it just hurts for 10 minutes, then your shoulder numbs, and you don't feel it.
My first thought when picking one up was "What did I get myself into?"

The fourth valve seemed to always be very stuffy, on every horn we had. The third valve would act similarly, but not as extreme.

Make a GG tuba! Someone will buy it, eventually...

[Elbee]

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a semi-serious question here. Whoinell ever decided that this was a reasonable way to play a tuba? The sousaphone is a fine solution for marching, and the center of gravity is reasonable...
Loren

[Michael Bush]

Just a guess... This form began with the contrabass bugle. It looks to me like all bugles had pretty much the same trumpet-like form, just scaled up for the lower registers. When you get something as big as a contra, holding it out front is out of the question, but they wanted to keep the form.

That could be all blather. But it's my guess FWIW.

[J.c. Sherman]

My own drive would be a G contrabass (subcontrabass) tuba. Why? It might be a nice organ-deap instrument for some works. Imagine 2nd harmic "pedal" Bb. It's been a dream of mine, unrealized.

If it proved too awkward, send it to me (oops) I mean I think the blessing of a good bell and bottom bow and a 4 valve section make it an ideal parts horn for too many projects;

J.c.S.

[Dan Schultz]

My own drive would be a G contrabass (subcontrabass) tuba. Why? It might be a nice organ-deap instrument for some works. Imagine 2nd harmic "pedal" Bb. It's been a dream of mine, unrealized.

If it proved too awkward, send it to me (oops) I mean I think the blessing of a good bell and bottom bow and a 4 valve section make it an ideal parts horn for too many projects;

J.c.S.

J.C. .... this beast REALLY sucks the life out of you at anything below a low BBb! I can't imagine playing the horn as a GG. The upper register is similar to most any BBb tuba but playing that low is probably a feat that most players couldn't handle for very long.

That 2nd harmonic "pedal" Bb would probably only last two counts!

If I leave it as a GG and make it to a concert configuration... I would certainly would not keep if for myself.

[fairweathertuba]

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a semi-serious question here. Whoinell ever decided that this was a reasonable way to play a tuba? The sousaphone is a fine solution for marching, and the center of gravity is reasonable...
Loren

Unbeknownst to me until recently. There is a semi-serious history of drum and bugle corps in the U.S. I googled the heck out of d&b corps one night and it was a good read. G was the only key bugles were built in for a long time. The way the drum corps march doesn't fit well with a sousaphone banging against the hip, that and uniformity were probably the main reasons the over the shoulder style was used when the GG bugle came about.