Posted by Rick Denney on August 26, 2003 at 12:16:29:
In Reply to: York Master tuba posted by Joe Prezio on August 26, 2003 at 08:10:46:
"York Master" was the label used by the Carl Fischer Company during the 50's and 60's. Carl Fischer had bought the York Band Instrument Company in 1941, and after the war they used the Grand Rapids plant for making student-line instruments. To keep some presence in the high-end market, they imported a series of tubas from Boehm and Meinl in Germany under the label York Master.
I have seen York Master tubas of all configurations, ranging from three-valve bell-front instruments to four-valve bell up and interchangeable-bell instruments. I own one of the latter. I have even seen sousaphones so labeled, and I suspect that Carl Fischer was a bit opportunistic in how they applied that label.
I think it is clear to me now that the York Master instruments were excellent in many ways. But they were clearly attempts by B&M to build instruments that looked like traditional American designs, rather than being truly American in their origins. My York Master is a wonderful instrument, with many characteristics of American instruments but still a pronounce German accent. For example, the tone has that round-but-colorful quality I associate with American designs, while being a bit stiff like a traditional German instrument. Of course, all such generalizations are false, even if they are useful for describing things.
I have found no serial number list for the YM's that can be used to date them. The Carl Fischer Company will not admit to any knowledge whatever about the York Master instruments. The production history ran from the late 40's or the early 50's up through about 1970 or so. The B&M factory continues in operation, but in the early 90's was purchased by Walter Nirschl. I asked Herr Nirschl if he had any information about them in the B&M records, and he coyly said that he was far too young to know anything about them (he then congratulated me on owning a fine instrument). I have not been able to nail down whether my instrument was bought in ~1960 or ~1970 by its original owner (Oscar Lagasse), but my serial number is in the same range as yours, for whatever that's worth. I think the detailed story of York Master will remain a mystery unrevealed.
The B&M instruments (including the YM's) are not numerous but they have a devoted fan club.
Rick "a member of that fan club" Denney