Posted by Adam Peck on April 18, 2001 at 13:06:21:
In Reply to: Lyon & Healy tuba on E-Bay posted by Andy Smith on April 17, 2001 at 23:39:38:
Andy, aside from the fact that the horn seems to be very rough, I don't think you would be pleased with the sound. I have owned over 20 of these old Eb tubas...at one time I thought I could find one with some potential and overhaul it, but I found that almost all of them were very small bore horns with a small sound. I found a beautiful old Lyon and Healy Eb a few years ago. I took it apart myself, painstakingly took out all the dents, got all the tarnish off the silver plate and had my repairman replate and lap the valves( he did the work for free- he owed me a favor). After all that work I ended up with a gorgeous looking old tuba but with a very disappointing sound....incapable of holding its own in even a small modern ensemble. I ended up selling it to the Bass Trombonist in my orchestra. He plays it in a quintet. Now there are some old Ebs out there that do hold there own in a group,even today, and I continually scan the auctions to see if I can get one at a reasonable price, but usually you will have to spend a lot of money to get these old beasts into playing condition, money that in my opinion can be better spent on a used quality modern Eb or F tuba. Tell Dave I said hello!