Posted by Rick Denney on May 08, 2002 at 13:58:30:
(Simulataneously posted on TubaEuph)
Last week while I was lounging in Long Beach (actually it was the
typical 15-hour-day conference deal with lots of booth duty and
schmoozing with geeky guys who have bad breath), two *large* boxes
appeared at my office with Daryl Hickman's return address.
The 20J has arrived.
If you ever have an opportunity to buy something from Daryl, do it.
This big beastie is in far better condition than I would have expected
for the price.
I intend to generally wreak havoc with the monster at every
opportunity, and have fun doing it. I think the summer concert series
of my community band is a good place to start.
Some observations before I get to the meat of my question:
1. The forward bell can be pointed due left, and it will point in
approximately the same direction as the upright bell of a front-action
BAT. The sheer size of a 20J raises the bell up high enough to avoid
forehead conflict, and there is no visual obstruction of either music
or conductor. Of course, it might invite derision from the audience,
but that is another story. In short, the forward bell cannot be argued
against on purely acoustic grounds, it seems to me, at least with this
instrument. It can be pointed other than forward.
2. The tuning bit that was included in the design is really necessary
for anything resembling comfortable playing, even with a stand.
3. A mouthpiece that doesn't have too much volume or backbore works
pretty well. I prefer the Elliott R cup and 4 backbore for this
one--the mouthpiece I normally use on my F tuba. The T-6 prevents
pianissimo, at least with my chops. The R-4 is probably pretty similar
in terms of cup and backbore to a Helleberg 7B, though I don't have
Doug's catalog near to hand to confirm that. I use my normal larger
rim, however. One does not need a large mouthpiece to produce a large
sound with this instrument.
4. Short-action valves are a pain in the butt to oil. I can't seem to
get the hang of screwing down the cap one-handed without misaligning
the valve. Doing things one-handed is important with this baby.
Putting it down off the stand requires a couple of willing native
bearers or a close relationship with a chiropractor.
Now for the questions:
Has anyone ever replaced the bell stack with another 6/4 bell, say,
from a York or a Martin? (Not that those are any more common than Conn
upright bells which seem to be scarce as hen's teeth unless I'm
willing to pay more than the horn cost.)
And, has anyone considered what it would take to turn this around to a
front action tuba? I know that I'd have to reassemble the outer
branches with the bows pointing the other way. I'm really interested
in identifying valve clusters that might work. One option is to fit
any standard .750 cluster to the instrument, which would require a bit
of tapering between the valves and the tuning slide. Another option is
to install a Miraphone rotary cluster, though positioning it to avoid
needing a longer leadpipe will be a challenge. The Miraphone valve
bore is the same as the Conn. An unlikely option, because of both cost
and availability, is a Hirsbrunner .770 cluster. Anybody have any
other ideas?
Of course, a 36J cluster would probably be best, but finding one in
decent condition might be quite a challenge.
I'm exploring the possibility of making this a good, front-action, BBb
6/4 BAT, but on the cheap. If I have to spend as much as a Holton BAT
or a good 36J, then the project isn't worth the trouble or expense.
I'm aware that at the end of the day, the third partial will still be
flat, heh, heh.
Rick "who might decide he's having too much fun with it as it is"
Denney