TubaForum.net

"Speak of the Devil!"

Having posted the thread in the main music forrum, i gotta acknowledge this here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403695793169



(And with apologies to hrender that it is a live auction...

Gonna be a long 10 days to see how it plays out.)

Cool!

Bb or Eb, though?

Eb, I think.

My kneejerk assumption is BBb, by virtue of a being full circle.

Taking a closer look, i still think so, but it isn't the older valve lay out as per the Tuba Tuesday Distin, where the 3rd valve slide sticks beyond (and under) the wrap, but a slightly more modern 3rd valve circuit what loops back on itself and has multiple slides. Datewise, i think that also is consistent with the football shaped logo on the bell. (though i am basing this on sufficiently few data points, all my data points may be outliers...)

Since all pics of the valve lay out are top down, this kinda harder to be certain.

Here's a pic of a Keefer BBb helicon from Vince Simonetti. The tubing layout is similar, but it still seems like there isn't as much, but it's hard to tell.

Yup.

There are slightly more recent BBb variants where the 3rd circuit has a loop in it (and perhaps 2 slides?), so it doesn't extend beyond the 1st valve slide, and i believe ebay sousa is of that variety. Too lazy to track down a pic at the moment, but i believe i have seen such at tuba xmas. (and my apologies for being impertinently curious)

But this simonette pic (as well as maryann in the music thread) brings up the more likely gotcha... with no loop in the mts, it is entirely possible the sousa is high pitch? In which case, now i wonder how interchangeable parts are, and might my mts looped fit?

Meh, am curious to hear if either anyone is industrious enough to ask seller, or ends up with it and feels like sharing, but no matter.