Re: Holton BATS


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Posted by Alex C on October 22, 2000 at 21:16:25:

In Reply to: Holton BATS posted by Tim Jackson on October 22, 2000 at 14:55:36:

The high range in the Holton tubas can be good to terrific. They are not consistant, neither was any other manufacturer at that time. The fifth valve is very useful. Second, third, & fifth for C# and low F# was essential. The lower register was impossible without a fifth. Fifth valves parts are easy to get, but not cheap.

I understand that to make the York copy, Holton measured Jake's York and copied what they had to copy and used some of their own older branches where they could, to save money. One tubist I know swapped BBb York inner braces with the Holton CC and got an amazing York-like tuba, much closer than the stock Holton was. The inner branches account for much of the different quality of the Holton 6/4.

The bore size in all of the York copies was supposed to be .750" in the valve section, except for 4th valve. The fourth valve tubing increase in size was an original idea of Pop Johnson who designed the York tuba. Jake said it made the lower register more "organ like." (Worked for him...)

This variance in tubing sizes is not uncommon, some of the older Benge trumpets had it and Eldon (?) Benge called it a choker. I don't know what it did for screech trumpets. One tuba manufacturer today uses the same size rotary valves in several different bore size tubas, I don't know what THAT does either, except save money.

Does someone really know what the increase in 4th valve bore size does for (to) the York-copies? More curious about the Holton was that the tubing leaving 4th valve and going to the tuning slide went back down to .750. Meinl-Weston fixed this on their original York copy, and later unfixed it, I think.

I thought all of the York copy Holton's were intended to have the same size bell. The older Holton big tubas had varying sizes. Ah... Holton did build some really big tubas before Jake got to them, that's some of what Bob Rusk was cutting.

Hope this helps answer your questions. By the way, I paid $1250 to Jake for mine.


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