Sterling silver tuba bell

[bort2.0]

So, separate from the other thread, can we at least talk about what a sterling silver tuba bell would be like?

What are the playing characteristics?
More live?
More overtones?
More "thud" and no breaking up?
How much could it really affect a 6/4 tuba to have a silver bell on it?
How soft is sterling silver compared to brass?
Would it be ok to sit the tuba on its bell?

Or what about a solid silver mouthpiece? Frankly, I've always wanted to try one of those.

Besides eBay and blah blah blah... the concept of a sterling silver tuba bell fascinates me.

[Three Valves]

I would think it would be softer, heavier/more dense and less resonant.

[bloke]

The King coin-silver bells sound the same as brass ones, but feature an after-ring, a bit like some sousaphone bells.

[iiipopes]

I had possession of my uncle's King sterling bell cornet for many years, until I shipped it to my cousin, his granddaughter. To me, the sterling had a different tone than the brass equivalent. To me, compared to regular brass, the sterling bell had more ring, but not overring, more "core" to the tone and kept its composure at the highest dynamic levels. Again, to me, I'm not sure I would play it in ensemble, because it did lack the different kind of an edge to the tone that a brass bell has, although it seemed to have more even-order harmonics. I concede this could have been due to the comparison being between cornets with different bells with their more conical bore than trumpets with their more cylindrical bore.

For band, I remember playing a King sterling bell trumpet along side a Super 20 with a brass bell, and choosing the brass. That was only about 48 years ago in fifth or sixth grade, so I don't remember why. Later, as a junior in high school, I had the option of trading in my Super 20 and either buying a new trumpet or selling my Super 20 and having my Dad's Super 20 refurbished. Again, I chose the refurb over a Silver Flair, a Golden Flair, and a Sterling bell Symphony model, and not just for sentimental reasons. For trumpet section work, concert or jazz band, I felt the brass bell was more suited to the section than the sterling bell, and not just because of the difference in the .458 of the Super 20, and the Golden Flair (which to me sounded like a solo horn, not a section horn), or the .462 of the Silver flair, or the dual bore .458/.468 of the Symphony model.

What everybody forgets is that if you ordered a King sterling bell trumpet, you had the option of also ordering a sterling mouthpipe. Now that is something I never have gotten to play, but which I think would be the choice to make, since the leadpipe has more effect on tone and intonation, in my view, than the bell geometry or materials.

[matt g]

The King coin-silver bells sound the same as brass ones, but feature an after-ring, a bit like some sousaphone bells.

From owning a 5B silver sonic, this is consistent with my experience. There was a tone, like high A or G (short second position) that would ring like mad. But the effect was mainly local to the player.

Biggest concern for a tuba would be how soft the metal is.

[bort2.0]

My only experience with sterling silver bells was in a band I played in long ago, which had started out as a band at the senior center (and later adapted to a community band). So it was basically a mix of 20-somethings and 70-somethings playing in a band together. Or rather, like playing in a band with your grandparents. It was hilarious.

The first trombone player was a short, firey, and ornery old man. He played a silver sonic, and was a good player. I asked him about it once, and he said he played it because it's badass and chicks dig it.

(I asked him again another time, and got a more sincere answer that he'd owned it for like 40 years (more?) and it was just the horn that's always been a part of his life. Never changing from it. Might want to be buried with it.)

[KingTuba1241X]

So, separate from the other thread, can we at least talk about what a sterling silver tuba bell would be like?

What are the playing characteristics?
More live?
More overtones?
More "thud" and no breaking up?
How much could it really affect a 6/4 tuba to have a silver bell on it?
How soft is sterling silver compared to brass?
Would it be ok to sit the tuba on its bell?

Or what about a solid silver mouthpiece? Frankly, I've always wanted to try one of those.

Besides eBay and blah blah blah... the concept of a sterling silver tuba bell fascinates me.

I'll let you know...or not..in a few weeks.

[bloke]

With King trumpets, cornets, and saxophones, the first silver option was a solid silver mouthpipe or neck, and the second option was a solid silver mouthpipe or neck PLUS a solid silver bell.

More for show than anything, this is why King trombones never offered a solid silver mouthpipe: because it doesn’t show.

[iiipopes]

With King trumpets, cornets, and saxophones, the first silver option was a solid silver mouthpipe or neck, and the second option was a solid silver mouthpipe or neck PLUS a solid silver bell.

More for show than anything, this is why King trombones never offered a solid silver mouthpipe: because it doesn’t show.

Actually, my uncle's cornet had the sterling bell, but not the sterling mouthpipe/leadpipe, and I have seen many others the same way. I don't know about the saxophones.