~Sold~ B&S Musica model 2300 rotary valve BBb tuba

[WakinAZ]

~Sold~
Used B&S Musica 2300 4/4 size BBb tuba in lacquer, no mouthpiece or case. $2795 if purchased direct via PayPal or Venmo. Photos at
https://reverb.com/item/40385505-b-s-mu ... e-bbb-tuba

16.5" upright bell and 4 rotary valves of .748" bore. 43" tall! Nickel-silver slide legs and slide tubes. Gold brass leadpipe resists corrosion more than yellow brass. [Compare this tuba with the Miraphone 186 or Cerveny 681, etc. I think the B&S plays/sounds better than either of those. I've owned/played all of them.]

Overall condition is "Very Good", Mechanical condition is Excellent and cosmetic condition is Good. The valves are excellent, very snappy and fast with like-new compression. All the slides move smoothly. There are multiple small to medium-size dings, scratches, evidence of prior repairs, spots with lost lacquer but no dents larger than a tuba players thumbprint. Overall it looks good and plays great! Lacquer finish at appx. 85%.

These were manufactured by B&S in Germany for sale by Conn-Selmer in the US in the late 90s and early 2000s. I estimate the age of this tuba to be 20 years old. It has been used, but not abused.

Classic German-style tall bell tuba with a 50 year+ lineage in the B&S/VMI catalogue (models 101, 2103, 3103, PT-1, etc.).This is very well-built without being tank-like. The German craftsmanship is evident throughout.

$395 ground shipping from Tucson, Arizona by UPS or FedEx to CONUS only.

Thanks for looking.

[hrender]

Do you know what the differences are between the 2300 and the 3101 (prev. 101)? Just curious.

[jonesbrass]

Very nice.

[jtm]

The Musica-branded B&S 5V C tuba of the same vintage that I had for a while was very well made and easy to play.

[WakinAZ]

Thanks for the kind words gents. Now loosen your wallets.
Hal - I do not know the exact differences, but based on the one not so great picture I can find on the internet of the 3101, it appears to have a bell kranz, whereas the Musica does not. Possibly some other minor trimming differences. Again the small low-resolution picture is not a lot of help.

Makes sense since the 3101 was endorsed by Walter Hilgers, and considered a premium horn, while the Musica was probably aimed at a student market since it was distributed by Conn-Selmer. I'm sure you're aware there was also a very similar Conn International 2300 (not sure on the model number at the moment).

I'll gladly take correction on any of the above. Greenbean has owned most of the variations of this horn. He may chime in if he sees this.

[greenbean]

I agree - nice looking horn and probably a great player.

I have owned two 101's and four 103's. This Musica really doesn't appear either of those models but it probably shares some features (and likely parts) with the 103. The 101's I had were wrapped very differently in the bugle, were lower in the upper bow, narrower in the body, I think, and had valve branches quite different. They were also about 43" tall so perhaps the Musica has the same bell throat and flare.

The 103's were also a bit different than this Musica. The bottom bows and top bow might be the same, but the Musica's bugle then get wrapped up more tightly - because it has a horizonal MTS and the 103 have a vertical one that uses less tubing. Most 103's seem to have a 17 5/8" bell and I have read that some were bigger. The Musica's valve branches do appear to be taken from the 103 though - take a look at the backside of the horn - they are very distinctive.

I also owned a VMI-produced Musica BBb that looked nothing like this one!