Posted by Rob Perelli-Minetti on March 22, 1999 at 13:19:23:
In Reply to: Re: good BBb? posted by ken k on March 22, 1999 at 10:08:38:
The King you're thinking of is the 2341UB model (that's the 4 piston, upright bell version) 2340 would be a 3 valve horn. The horn can be had in either upright or recording bell versions.
I have a 2341UB which I have been very happy with as a serious amatuer player. It's not like the 5 valve Alex I played 30 years ago, or even like a large bore Conn (e.g. 25J upright bell 4 short action valves) from the good old days, but in terms of a good, versatile, relatively small bore (.687 - what used to be called 'medium bore' by the American tuba makers in the 30s) 4/4 horn with good and even intonation, the King is an excellent value at around $3000.
I find it interesting that current fashion leads everyone to European and Japanese horns, when some of the best of them are using designs which they freely admit are based on older American tubas. For a "european" sound, I'd take the old Alex over anything I've heard since, and I think some of the older Conns, Kings, Yorks and Holtons sound better than many popular horns today.