Re: Recording Bell tuba opinions


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Jim Andrada on May 08, 2003 at 04:56:47:

In Reply to: Recording Bell tuba opinions posted by Gus Pratt on May 07, 2003 at 21:44:21:

I have two of these old timers.

A Conn 24/25J (ie I have both the upright and recording bells)probably of 1950 - 1960 vintage, and a Martin "Handcraft" with recording bell that I know was purchased new in the 1930's by the original owner.

The Conn has 4 top action short action valves, the Martin has 3 top action valves.

I got the Conn to use for outdoor concerts as a sort of "lap Sousaphone" and I think it will be outstanding for the job. Indoors with the upright bell it is a real blast to play - great tuba shaped noises falling from the ceiling etc. Tremendous breadth and presence, not the greatest intonation and pitch center, but definitely usable. You get the feeling of driving a battle tank through traffic and feel like you could drown out a 100 piece band with no effort whatever.

Not the most sophisticated sound, but lots of it.

Ergonomically not great - it feels a tad overbalanced and front heavy, and the thing weighs a TON! I'm a hair under 6'3", tall enough that it sits on my lap, not on my chair (and there isn't any space left on the chair anyhow!) and after an hour or so my legs want to call it quits (I have a tuba stand on order)

I got the Martin recently and it needs some work, as well as being somewhat handicapped by the lack of a 4th valve (but not an issue for jazz etc I think)

It's close to the Conn in physical size but wrapped quite differently so not easy to say which is "bigger" - both have 24" bells.

I was expecting it to play like the Conn, but was really surprised - it's night and day. The Martin speaks really easily and pitches are pretty cleanly centered - I hit the pitch dead on much more often than on my BBb Alex. The metal is much thinner and resonates pleasantly when playing. It's no problem to play softly and clearly with minimal effort. I took it to rehearsal one night and we wound up doing the band arrangement of the 1st movement of the Grieg piano concerto. Almost the whole tuba part seems to be string bass cue notes at ppp to p dynamic range. No problem! I was really surprised at how nicely it played even in its somewhat shabby condition. It has a big full sound, but it doesn't feel as overwhelming as the Conn and I think it would fit in with most any size group if the player exercises a bit of discretion.

Ergonomics are far better than the Conn - it doesn't overbalance to the front anywhere nearly as badly and it sits nicely in my lap. Bell engraving and detailing throughout is impressive. Lots of little touches like the clamping screws in the two tuning bits supplied with the horn (original).

I thnk the ergonomics of top action horns are not as good as front action, but since I have almost no vision in my right eye, I find it less of a hassle to read the music with the top action horns. That being said, the Martin is just a nice comfortable horn to play.

Maybe one of these days I'll find an upright bell for it and then I can do a real apples to apples comparison of upright and recording, but from playing the Conn I think I7'd somewhat agree with the other posters about sound directionality being greater with the recording bell. Sometims that's goodness, sometimes not.

Probably more than you wanted to know!


Follow Ups: