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York 6/4

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 1:48 pm
by Tim Jackson
York 6/4
Pensacola Florida

I picked this up on eBay many years ago. It is a great and rare example of an older York because it is all original, no repairs, and no alterations. The last owner was a collector of antique oddities somewhere in the Midwest. When I received the horn it appeared to have been sitting on a shelf wrapped in plastic for 30-40 years. The slides and valves appear to have about 10 maybe 15 years of use on them.
There are no signs of any repair or buffing to the original finish.

Serial number 50974 1913-1915
Finish: Satin Silver with bright accents
It has a 22.5 bell and a height of 39 inches. With the tuning donut disengaged it plays perfectly in tune at A-440. It features a long pull 3rd valve slide. The intonation is very good.
These pictures show the detail of which surfaces were originally satin or bright. The York 91 mouthpiece was found at Dillon Music after I purchased the horn. It is a large shank mouthpiece with a cup-shaped interior. It really does work better for me on this horn than any other mouthpiece I have tried. I really think it is the mouthpiece designed by York for this tuba. The horn has a very colorful resonant tone with a deep low end and a singing high range. It is a joy to play in the symphony and it is surprising how many pieces can be managed with only 3 valves. Sometimes I wonder if the resonance of this horn may in some way be attributed to the fact that it only has 3 valves.

At this time, I will be considering offers above $7500. This is right at the winning bid I put on this some 20 years ago and never regretted the purchase.
PM for more details and a phone call.
Tim Jackson
York Front.jpg
York Front.jpg (130.64 KiB) Viewed 1047 times

Re: York 6/4

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 2:32 pm
by bort2.0
That tuba is absolutely gorgeous. Museum worthy, but honestly it deserves to be PLAYED and HEARD.

If I had the money...!

Re: York 6/4

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 4:42 pm
by Three Valves
Satin silver, phat, tri-valveā€¦. :drool:

Re: York 6/4

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 4:54 pm
by Tim Jackson
Yes, it is museum-quality, but I have really enjoyed playing such a piece of history-it has brought me much tuba happiness and I'm still amazed to have found it. This is the type of horn that inspired and brought about the development of the 2 Chicago yorks. I got to do American in Paris on this horn - such fun.

My days and desire to play in a large ensemble are gone. Yes, it is fun to get the horn out occasionally but it is really time to pass the torch on this one.

I do remember the days long ago thinking "I'll never sell this". I knew at a certain age I would. Time marches on. Now I will wait to find an eccentric player/collector that wants to enjoy this one for a while as I did. I still have the vision to record Tomasi's "ETRE OU NE PAS ETRE" on this instrument. I guess because Jake did it on his York and that was one of my favorite recordings.

Thanks for looking.
TJ

Re: York 6/4

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 6:00 pm
by bisontuba
A beauty!!!

Re: York 6/4

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:21 pm
by bloke
If (??) there's not hard case...
I have a couple of boxy/wood GWW (tolex-over-wood) 6/4 cases that would surely hold it.
They are new - collecting barn dust.
They're unwieldy, but solid and (at least one of them is) available.

Re: York 6/4

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2022 12:32 am
by gnimoyw
@Tim Jackson - where are you located? Beautiful horn!

Re: York 6/4

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2022 6:37 pm
by Tim Jackson
The York 6/4 is located in Pensacola Florida.
TJ