Posted by Lew on April 25, 2001 at 15:50:13:
In Reply to: Gold Bell posted by Matt S. on April 25, 2001 at 14:11:19:
I can't imagine that it would have any negative impact on the sound of your horn. I had an old Conn double bell euphonium that was silver plated with gold in the bell, and didn't notice anything different about the sound from my other similar horns. I have thought of doing the same thing to my 1893 BBb tuba, but don't have the $$ right now. Eventually I will probably have it done because I do love the look. As long as you realize that you will never recover this "investment" and it's not money that you really need for something else, I would say to go for it.
I wouldn't count on never having to polish it though. The horns that I have with gold washed bells do get some tarnish showing up. I believe that this is because they have a very thin layer of gold over silver, and the underlying silver is tarnishing through the gold.