King rotary valve bass

[rkeane@bevcomm.net]

I "Inherited" a King rotary valve bass recently. From what I can determine it is a 1938 or 1939 Monster series in silver, bell front. It needs some braces re-soldered and the bell has some wrinkles, but few dents. The valves work fine and the finish is maybe 60-70% there. Needs a clean-up. Just wondering how much work I should put into it? How do they play? How do they compare to other horns? It has semimetal to me. I may play it a little. Anybody have one or know about them?
Thanks

[EdFirth]

I have one and there's another one in town that I've played quite a bit.They make a gorgeous sound. I used to play mine on the Disneyworld Candlelight show six nights a week through last year and people were regularly commenting about the sound. They seem to all have their notes that aren't as friendly as the rest of the horn but they are very learnable. You can get an upright bell for it from Kanstul if you find that you really love the horn and want one. I got one and it works great.Supposedly thee were only about 100 Bb's and some say 7, some say 17, and everything in between, C's. Valve alignment is critical on these horns and leaks will WAY compromise everything but that's kind of the same with all horns so, since it's around 80 years old you might want to have a good repair person go through it. Congratulations and welcome to the Monster Rotary club. Ed

[jeopardymaster]

I'd be interested to see a photo or 10 of this beast before commenting.

[Dan Schultz]

I really enjoy playing my King 'monster' rotary BBb. I don't take it out of the house often, though. I think your horn would be well worth spending a few bucks on. Does it have the original string linkage? Mine had been 'butchered' when I got it. I restored the strings and am glad that I did.

Post some pictures. Here's mine:

[bort]

Ugh, great... now I want one.

Great looking tuba, bigger than I pictured it! How does the size compare to a Miraphone 186?

[rkeane@bevcomm.net]

Everybody......Thanks for the quick replies. I don't have any pictures and hesitate to take them until it has gone through some clean-up and repair. At this point it looks like it should hang on the wall at Applebees. But it is playable. I'm getting more excited all the time to go through it. It does have the original string linkage.

[TubaSteve]

That's a great photo Dan! I love the recording bell horns! The main bugle seems to be very much like my Holton BB-350. The only string horn I have played was an old Marzan that worked fine, but I sometimes felt that they were slow to return. It was probably an issue with the horn and not the concept.

Steve

[smitwill1]

Oh man, there's one of these (albeit with an upright bell) in the basement of the music department at Idaho State. I've tried playing it in the past and it undoubtedly needs rotor alignment, and may have several air leaks--anything from water keys to solder joints. How much would a "rolling repair" on such a beast cost? Would it be a decent horn for use in a concert band?

[bububassboner]

That's a great photo Dan! I love the recording bell horns! The main bugle seems to be very much like my Holton BB-350. The only string horn I have played was an old Marzan that worked fine, but I sometimes felt that they were slow to return. It was probably an issue with the horn and not the concept.

Steve

If I recall right, this bugle is slightly smaller than a Holton 345. It's technically a 6/4 in the King world, but a 5/4 compared to other similar modern instruments.

Still, a very cool instrument. I like the string action valves - much quicker than normal mechanical action.

Nope for sure a 6/4. I had access to a fixed upright bell next to my nirschl for over 4 years and it's about the same size. It fit in my nirschl gig bag but it was a tight fit. Great horns. I wish i had one.