VMI 101

[Ricardo]

Started playing one of these, got it handed to me. Great intonation, easy to get it to resonate nicely, handmade construction from sheet brass, good in the high register. Makes me think of giving up CC tuba. I would just use it in a concert band and very infrequently to play in an orchestra.

I can feel the magic of its sheet brass construction. So quick to respond.

Any other fans out there?

[bloke]

If you can find one of those (horizontal main slide) that isn’t worn out, they are pretty remarkable. Even the never-needed “double high” B-flat focuses/rings as clearly as it would on an F tuba, and the low range is as clear as a bell (as well as easily-played). I judge them as worth enhancing to fully chromatic instruments, but their #1 and #4 rotors’ designs prevent this from being easily done. The Internet (eBay, etc.) has taught Americans that that they were manufactured with several brand names on them including “Weltklang” and others. In the 1970s, Guardinelli in New York imported them with “Sonora“ engraved on them, and Selmer USA created the name “Meister Gerhard Schneider“ when they imported them during the same era.
I don’t find that the ones with a plain French bell rim play any worse or better than the ones with a fancy nickel Kranz. One - that I bought from an eastern European seller (decades ago) with a plain bell was one of the best of them that I had ever played.
———————
Sheet/thin brass: in general - and as I am approaching my 55th year of playing (and having played many makes and models of instruments), I’m becoming fairly sure that this is one of those tactile things (ie. vibration felt, rather than heard) that can deceive and distract us from the only thing that is important, which is aural perception. It’s fun (yes, absolutely) to feel an instrument vibrate while playing it, but I’ve become fairly certain that it doesn’t contribute to anything that is useful.

[the elephant]

I like these, too. I have thought about buying one to have as a backup horn, but I no longer need a backup horn.

At one point in the distant past, I owned one of Ev Gilmore's BBb Alex 163s and liked it enough to seriously consider going back to BBb full-time. I had one of these Weltklang BBb horns that played as well as or better than the 163, so that combo could have ended up being my new work horn and my backup, but I sold them both. Both sales were hard decisions, but I was in need of cash and had good CC tubas, so they had to go.

This is a very well-designed, and (usually) well-constructed tuba.

[Ace]

Wade, what tuba(s)/Sousaphones did you use in military service. Your own horns? Government issued?

Ace

[the elephant]

My personal horn at that time was an excellent Yamaha YBB-641 BBb that I bought new in 1983. I have never played another that I liked nearly so much except for the one my HS buddy bought (the year before) that got me all excited about getting one for myself.

My issued horns were a lacquered King sousaphone with an adjustable upper 1st slide. It was made in the early 1980s. I also had a silver King sousaphone from the 1950s that was part of a matched set of ceremonial brass that I used about ten times a year. And I had a 1969 BBb 186 that looked new and had never been restored. The only clue to the age was the darkened lacquer (that was pretty much 100%). For questionable gigs (we were in NYC decades before 9/11 and many New Yorkers hated us and pelted us with rocks or eggs) I had a new-ish 186 that had been knocked down some stairs by the previous player. He had to pay Chuck McAlexander quite a bit for a full restoration as restitution to the Army. It was a good horn, but the value on the books was quite low due to the resto work. So that was the "scary gig" tuba that I shared with two others whenever one of us had one of *those* gigs.

All the horns were top-notch and played very well. We had an HB-1 (I think? -- 4 rotors, BBb) that I hated and never bothered with. I am no fan of most HB tubas.

[bloke]

There is no "that's interesting" or "like" thing to click...only "thank".
I did REALLY "like" Wade's last sentence.

bloke "The more expensive they are (re: HB), the more wacky they seem to be...but - when I buy them right, there's always someone eager to buy them for more."

[tofu]

.

[bloke]

I enjoy driving down sketchy streets - playing hiphop music through the multi-thousand watts subwoofers in the back of my twenty-year-old Corolla - so that other motorists and pedestrians can feel the pressed board and plastic panels - inside the passenger compartment and trunk - rattle.

bloke “That’s just how I roll.”

[Three Valves]

Don't be shy @bloke tell them about how the rims and lambo-doors help with loading and unloading!!

[bloke]

It’s probably just about time to bend the thread back to “VMI 101, yes?”

A have an older brother who is a little bit past the typical male lifespan in age, but who is doing quite well.
A very few years ago, he bought a “fun car“ - which was an older/“vintage” red Celica with beautiful original paint and low miles, yet a young man had purchased it and converted the doors with hinges like those in your picture, and also added a bunch of other goofy bling things to it, such as spoilers etc. My brother had fun restoring that car back to “bone stock“…even including the radio/speakers, with the only beyond-stock upgrade being that he converted the rear wheels to disc brakes. He only kept it for about a year or so, and then sold it. He had more fun working on it - and enjoying seeing the results of his work - than driving it. (I drove it once… It is one of those super low slung cars, whereby the driver’s legs go straight out horizontally to the pedals…and it takes a moment for a tall person to get into it.)

Don't be shy @bloke tell them about how the rims and lambo-doors help with loading and unloading!!