TromboneChat

Hi all, my sousaphone player has developed a bad back and can no longer stand up and hold the sousa. He has an ordinary tuba, but thinks one with a forward facing bell would be much more suitable.

Does anyone have one, or know of one? He can pay up to £1000.

Many thanks.

RHM

Check out "Buy and Sell Brass Uk" .It is a Facebook group for Buying and Selling Brass instruments in the UK.

Thanks! I've applied for membership.

There is also Tubenet and Tuba/Euphonium forum. THese are primarily USA sites,but people worldwide do list there. Shipping for a Tuba to the UK would  probably be quite expensive.But you might find someone in the UK selling on there.  Good Luck

he could lie on the stage with the top of his head and the bell pointing towards the audience. And use a series of mirrors so he can see his music. 

I sort of remember a standing version, but you might want to look at something like this (costs US$350, made by Wenger):

John, I've passed on your suggestions - thanks.

FPT - I've passed on your suggestion too - we'll see what he does at the next gig!

Bruce - that device looks like you just need a commode underneath and you're set for the evening!  I'll pass that on as well.

I've also had an email, so fingers crossed. Thanks all!

My email was from a person who does have a tuba, but one which has forward facing valves, whereas my guy needs a forward facing bell.

I've known a couple of people who owned tubas with replaceable bells, one facing forward and one facing up.  These were generally from the period between the World Wars, when recording technology wasn't what it became in the HiFi era.

The tuba with the bell facing forward is normally referred to as a "recording tuba".  Specifying that may simplify your search.  From what I hear from my tuba playing friends they aren't that popular.

Conn 20J with the recording bell is probably the most common, and can be found for that price.

A request at tubenet ( http://forums.chisham.com/ ) might be answered.



Just picked up one for myself. With one tuba bit I can rest it on the corner of the chair.

 

Interchangeable upright and front-facing bells are available for the old King 2341, which is an excellent four valve BBb tuba. A former school horn may be affordable.

The best in-tune tubas (and indeed any valved instruments) I've played are vintage Besson three valve compensating models. Recording bell BBb versions turn up from time to time and are often fairly inexpensive (at least in the US). The bell on that one is huge.

I've owned the Wenger chair ($75 used on eBay) and it works well, but requires an extra trip to/from the car. It's a cheap(er) solution, but probably best to try before purchasing if possible. Comfort may depend upon the size of the player.

Has the tuba player used the upright horn in front of a critical listener? It may sound better than she/he thinks.

I have a three-valve King recording bass with front-facing valves and bell, but I'm afraid shipping to the UK would be quite high--probably at least as much as the value of the tuba.

One of those 20Js sold recently in Raleigh off Craigslist.  The original asking price was $850 and it seemed to be in great shape.  I thought for a few minutes about buying it, but ...

Then of course you need the crane to lift it and two assistants to carry it.  They weigh over 50 lbs.  But they put out a huge sound.

There are some good old front-bell Kings around in pretty decent shape.  I have a bandmate who has two of them (and has "cut back" on his herd).  They're usually only 3 valves.  But you don't need 4.  They're also usually front action.

Dear all,

Many thanks for your interest. I'll continue to pass on your info to my guy.

I thought we'd found something today. I was sent an email with good info and a nice pic. However, I then searched the name "T Norris" here and found it mentioned under one of the "scamming" topics.

Euph - what would you want to charge for that? They seem to be extremely rare over here!

I tried to join tubenet. I need to know what instrument Arnold Jacobs played. I don't know.

Ah. Tuba!

But then I couldn't read those funny confirmation codes and was timed out.

Quote from: ghmerrill on Aug 24, 2017, 12:00PMThen of course you need the crane to lift it and two assistants to carry it.  They weigh over 50 lbs.  But they put out a huge sound.
Yes, not a lot of air yet a big phat punch of sound. Good for me!

Their weight is part of their legend, but mine can't possibly weigh that much - and this thread http://forums.chisham.com/viewtopic.php?t=50049 has another user who says they are 28 lbs, which sounds about right for mine. Makes me wonder if the older ones, or the silver ones, weigh substantially more than the newer, or brass, ones. Conn Loyalist has them being made for nearly 50 years!

 

An example of a recording bell Besson:
http://www.blue-ridgemusic.com/page_352_59/besson-compensating-bbb-tuba

Quote from: mwpfoot on Aug 24, 2017, 01:26PM
Their weight is part of their legend, but mine can't possibly weigh that much - and this thread http://forums.chisham.com/viewtopic.php?t=50049 has another user who says they are 28 lbs, which sounds about right for mine. Makes me wonder if the older ones, or the silver ones, weigh substantially more than the newer, or brass, ones. Conn Loyalist has them being made for nearly 50 years!

http://20j.marchingsoutherners.org/home.htm
http://20j.marchingsoutherners.org/history.htm

Maybe you have a "lite" version.   

Quote from: ghmerrill on Aug 25, 2017, 05:07AMhttp://20j.marchingsoutherners.org/home.htm
http://20j.marchingsoutherners.org/history.htm

Maybe you have a "lite" version.   

Yeah ... there are other things on that page that I think are more conventional wisdom than perhaps actual fact.

They cool though.

 

Hello! Still need one of these.

C xxx