Posted by K on May 26, 2003 at 13:41:56:
In Reply to: Postwar Yorks vs. "Vintage" Yorks? posted by Steven on May 26, 2003 at 12:26:34:
Like JoeS I assume, that you ask about the German made York Master models.
I have no chance to compare them to pre-WWII original Yorks for the simple reasons, that I never have had the chance to see or even try a such one. I simply don't live in the York belt.
So I will only report on the YM's. I own a bell front BBb with 4 pistons. I like it very much for its intonation and for its extremely full sound. As soon, as I took it to the small local railway concert band, the overall band intonation leaped into a new and better category.
I play it with a modified PT-50, of which I had opened the backbore to get the optimum out of my Sovereign 981 Eb, which I used in a brass band of the neigbouring town. My idea of tuba sound is to adapt my mouthpiece and, probably more important, my own technical approach, so that any edginess disappears. Not by cancelling the overly prominent overtones, but by filling out the balance vacuum around them. The benefit of that approach, which my YM fits so well, is that the band gets a true frame of reference to tune up to. The tuba line thereby ends up less of a solo item, but that is what I find should be the true tuba function in an ensemble. The sole point, where the YM overachieves, is in slow legato passages. There I add trombone-style legato tongueing to secure the conture of the bass line.
There is a not very big sub-community of YM players on the TubeNet. Even representing various permutations of YM set-ups:
Some have exchanged detachable bell fronts with one-piece bells of York or non-York origins. They will speak for themselves, as has Rick Denney often done about his YM with the original upright bell.
When a well known, to the TN, private correspondent of mine acquired his second YM, this time with a recording bell, I suggested to him, that the bell-front model simply was the original design with the bell-up being an adaption to later prevailing tastes. To be seen and heard respectively from the much wider throath area of the BF and from its superior intonation. The comparative tests done by my correspondent confirmed my ideas about the intonation.
The signature photo on my groups' pages is not good, but it demonstrates the wide bell troath pretty well. The bell-up version is well represented on Rick's pages.
There is another more important twist to the post-WWII YM saga: apparently the same name was used for series of less prominent student instruments of smaller dimensions. They never have the extra "something" of the 4/4 to 5/4 sized YM's.
My galleries supplement Rick's pages in so far, that they have all of the mentioned versions, but for the large bell-up, represented:
Thumbnails of a small York Master student Eb tuba with 3 top action pistons:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/yorkmasterpublicphotosxii/lst?&.dir=/York+Master+small+Eb+tuba+3+top+pistons
Thumbnails of a small York Master student BBb tuba with 3 front action pistons - bell front:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/yorkmasterpublicphotosxvi/lst?&.dir=/York+Master+small+BBb+tuba+3P+bellfront
Thumbnails of a small York Master student BBb tuba with 3 top action pistons:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/yorkmasterpublicphotosxvi/lst?.view=t&.dir=/YORK+MASTER+student+BBb+3quarter+tuba+3P
Thumbnails of a York Master BBb tuba with 4 front action pistons and a recording bell:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/yorkmasterpublicphotosxi/lst?.dir=/York+Master+4+front+action+BBb+tuba+BF
You will find all of these with active hyperlinks in the full gallery index, which can be found via the link given below here. There you also will find several pre-WWII Yorks represented. Especially interesting for me, was it to find, that the wrapping of my YM was next to identical of the wrap of a 1939 York Symphony CC.
Obviously you hit a theme of my great interest!
Klaus Bjerre
Retired teacher
Free music files in .pdf format:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YorkMasterBBb/files/
(Approved membership required)
Index over brass instruments gallery and catalogue scans:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YorkMasterPublicPhotosIII/files/
(Free for all membership recommended for better view options.
Alternative log in option:
Yahoo identity = brassphotos03 and password = public)