Posted by Chuck on July 28, 1999 at 13:50:34:
In Reply to: double bell euphonium posted by monica on July 28, 1999 at 13:37:53:
A double-bell euphonium has an additional valve to switch from the large bell to the small one. The idea is to provide a different, more tenor trombone-like, tonal color for some notes as way of contrast. Simone Mantia played one of these things for most of his career and if you look at old photos of Sousa's band, you can see him holding a 5-valve Conn. As far as I am aware, they're strictly an American innovation.
Don't throw away your Willson just yet, though. There are usually substantial intonation differences between the bells on these things. Generally, double-bells are built on a 3- or 4-valve single-bell design with an extra valve and plumbing for the second bell grafted on. I've got a 1909 5-valve Conn DB that looks almost identical but for the extra valve and pipework to a 1910 Conn single-bell that I have.