Tuba Tuesday: Sander, BB flat tuba, 4 rotary, c.1900

[bisontuba]

Happy Tuba Tuesday

This Tuba Tuesday the Museum features a large four rotary valve BBb tuba & it is one of the finest BBb tubas in the collection. It was made circa 1900 by the German maker Rudolf Sander. Sander made instruments from about 1885 to 1910. His instruments were considered some of the finest of their time and the famous American tuba artist August Helleberg played his instruments. The entry for Sander in the New Langwill Index mentions that Sander also produced a “Monster” CCC tuba for the Sousa Band during that time.
Vince Simonetti purchased a four rotary valve CC tuba from August Helleberg’s last living son, who was over 90 years old at the time, in 1964 and used it for several years in the North Carolina Symphony. This large BBb is a superior instrument to the smaller CC.
Markus Theinert, the current CEO for the German maker Miraphone, and a very fine tuba soloist, played our Sander BBb tuba while visiting the collection in the 1990’s. Markus told us then that he thought it was one of the best BBb tubas he had ever played. The Museum is proud to have this fine instrument in our collection.



https://simonettitubacollection.com/ins ... -4-rotary/

[bort2.0]

Seems like all Sander tubas have that giant nickel silver guard where your right arm would rest. I wonder how well that worked, if it caused any bell resonance oddities, or what... Never seen that replicated anywhere else, and seems like an elegant 120 year old solution to the guards that we end up wrapping around our tubas to protect the lacquer...

The enormity of that top bow (length, not diameter) is also notable, as are the older style rotary valves.

[York-aholic]

Seems like all Sander tubas have that giant nickel silver guard where your right arm would rest. I wonder how well that worked, if it caused any bell resonance oddities, or what... Never seen that replicated anywhere else, and seems like an elegant 120 year old solution to the guards that we end up wrapping around our tubas to protect the lacquer...

The enormity of that top bow (length, not diameter) is also notable, as are the older style rotary valves.

The USN Martin Mammoths that were special ordered in the late 1950's had an additional piece of brass soldered in that spot also as the players left hand (top action) rests there while manipulating the MTS lever.

[hrender]

Seems like all Sander tubas have that giant nickel silver guard where your right arm would rest. I wonder how well that worked, if it caused any bell resonance oddities, or what... Never seen that replicated anywhere else, and seems like an elegant 120 year old solution to the guards that we end up wrapping around our tubas to protect the lacquer...

The enormity of that top bow (length, not diameter) is also notable, as are the older style rotary valves.

There's a King 1286 in the Simonetti collection that sports the same kind of guard. I've always thought it looked sharp and was a good alternative to having to put some kind of wrap on the horn the reduce wear in that spot. I have a smaller plate like that on an inner bow of my King, put there (I assume) by a previous owner.

[greenbean]

...
Markus Theinert, the current CEO for the German maker Miraphone, and a very fine tuba soloist, played our Sander BBb tuba while visiting the collection in the 1990’s. Markus told us then that he thought it was one of the best BBb tubas he had ever played. The Museum is proud to have this fine instrument in our collection.

I bet folks would love to hear it in action. Does the museum have a lending program? And if the answer is no... why not? Many fine instrument collectors allow professional players to borrow horns, usually for particular performances.

[DandyZ629]

I believe Herb Wekselblatt played his entire career on a Sander BBb like this one.