THE horn for Bydlo????


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Posted by Ken Herrick on May 12, 2001 at 05:34:10:

What do you use, lets have fun was a good thread and I have something that might give everyboy some more fun as it involves cutting old instruments, very specialised equipment and whatever else you might want to add, including tuba vs tenor tuba vs eupho (sort of) Add what you like. Here goes.

While I have done Pictures a few times on various pitched instruments, I think I have come up with the ultimate Bydlo horn. I picked up an old Boosey & Co small bore, .645in with 12in bell 3 valve top loader Eb. It was built as a high pitch instrument and had been converted to low pitch. Get rid of the added tubing and trim it up just a bit and Voila, an E tuba which gives you an open high G#!!!!!!!!! Coupled with a mouthpiece I had Ren Schilke Sr. make for me, starting with a Schilke 62 cup, duplicating a Helleberg rim and blending the cup to the rim, which I have since modified by puting a full 3/8in through the throat and opening the back bore gives a shallow cup mp which you can put a lot of air through, but with a fairly long straight throat which locks pitches in well, you can blow the absolute S......ter out of the top note and still back off for the soft end entrance AND put out plenty of bottom end when required. I used this mp while I was using a B&H Imperial Eb in an Australian Army band and nobody ever complained about me not being able to produce enough good quality sound. But what a combination for Bydlo this mp and my Boosey E tuba make. Its bigger than a Eupho and what some are calling "pure" tenor tubas, would be a small F if it were a bit shorter and had been stuck away in a corner as it was "old and really never anything but a little student horn which the little country town brass band had on hand in case a euph player was required to cover the tuba part". It was actually due to be thrown out!.

SO you can debate whether or not to start your hacksaws to put an oldie to use or whatever else you might want to do, as far as I am concerned, that is. Would YOU buy such a specialised instrument????


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