1960s GDR E-Tuba for sale SOLD

[TheBerlinerTuba]

Yes you read that right.

1960s made in Markneukirchen 4 valve Basstuba in E. Likely made by Wunderlich or Knoth in the 1960s, this Tuba is basically an F-Tuba built a half-step down to E. Why this was done, your guess is as good as mine?
My plan was to originally bring it back to F and to add a 5th valve, but I just have too many projects at the moment. I played Bruckner's 5th Symphony on it and it worked great although the cognitive dissonance melted my brain.

Condition is quite decent. Although it has a few bottom and top bow dents, the valves valve linkage are quiet and have excellent compression. Intonation is better than most other vintage F-Tubas from that era and the low range is remarkably open with low B slotting just fine. It's about the size of a Miraphone Firebird for reference.
Price 750€ with pick up in Berlin Germany
Shipping is possible at buyers cost.

[Dents Be Gone!]

I agree, guys. This is the way to go.

[bloke]

Some of the "high pitch" tuning of the past was just about a semitone above A=440 (nearly on the nose).

Even today, a bagpipe A is really-really close to an A=440 B-flat...

I have an old fancy Czech oval baritone (probably built very close to Markneukirchen) that plays just about spot-on in B...

...so I would have to assume that what you have there is a high-pitch E-flat tuba.

I would judge the most economical thing to make it marketable would be to build a flip-over for the main slide, so as to bring it down to 440-442 tuning...

...and then re-post with a $995 price.

We've all seen tuning fixes like this (horrible diagram, below)...which might be even easier (if you happen to have two wide/matching/correct-bore bows, and two of the same bore tight 90-degree crooks...but the double-over would probably look less goofy, and stay within the shape of the instrument more nicely.

goofy main slide.png (1.47 KiB) Viewed 1099 times

[Mary Ann]

And if you lengthen the main slide that much, how about the valve slides?
My horn was designed to be put into either F# or E if the person wanted to (I have never wanted to, never having had to play an entire piece stopped) -- and it seems it would have the same problem, especially since I have the valve slides pretty much all the way in as it stands in F. Possibly could get it into E, but don't think it would "go" into F# except for the main bugle. And yes, brain is fried trying to read music with it set up in the wrong key, unless you are one of those people who can read by fingering and not hear the difference in a half step.

[bloke]

And if you lengthen the main slide that much, how about the valve slides?
My horn was designed to be put into either F# or E if the person wanted to (I have never wanted to, never having had to play an entire piece stopped) -- and it seems it would have the same problem, especially since I have the valve slides pretty much all the way in as it stands in F. Possibly could get it into E, but don't think it would "go" into F# except for the main bugle. And yes, brain is fried trying to read music with it set up in the wrong key, unless you are one of those people who can read by fingering and not hear the difference in a half step.

I'd guess that there's enough room to pull each of those - though possibly not #4 (??)

[Mary Ann]

I have no idea why the horn was designed that way, nor have I ever heard of anyone using that function. E. Schmids are not that uncommon.

[bloke]

I was actually only responding to the first sentence of your post.
(I hope that's OK...)

[TheBerlinerTuba]

Update:

I managed to track down someone who knew the original owner. Aparently it was originally ordered as an F Tuba from Wunderlich in the late 1960s.
The gentleman's chops were so poor that when he went to pick it up, the tuba blew as an F# Tuba. To keep the customer happy, Wunderlich used a longer leadpipe to drop it down to E (430Hz in F) and for the owner with his trombone sized mouthpiece, it blew at 440Hz in F, and here we are 50+ years later. Talk about kicking the can down the road.

I'll leave it up here in case someone wants to have a go at it otherwise I'll get around to rebuilding it as a true 5 valve F when I have time.

Thanks bloke, I considered that as well. In Germany, pitch was standardized in 1933...among other things going on then...at 440Hz. After WW2 it would have been extremely unusual to build a tuba not at 440Hz and since this horn was made in the late 1960s, it just didnt make sense.

[bloke]

As the instrument is that "young" - and (likely) that not-so-great original owner/player probably didn't play it all that much - that should ALSO encourage someone to consider purchasing it, as the rotors are likely hardly broken in.

If the overtone series is pretty good, I might still look towards E-flat (were I the future owner).

That mouthpipe (articulating the upper bow - rather than cutting straight across at a 90-degree angle) is handsome.



I myself own a Bohemian F with good rotors (smallish - roughly Alex 155 sized - other than bore, which is .689" rather than .728)
It's only 4 rotors, the mouthpipe is low, and it plays very sharp (though not a semitone).
Back when B&S was still selling stuff, I bought a couple of rotors and materials for a 4+2 set-up. The rotors (with no cutting of the mouthpipe) would probably bring the pitch where it should be, and the mouthpipe would (then) cross the upper bow nicely, and the mouthpipe receiver would be more suitable for the average height of a tuba player. The tuba isn't in bad shape at all, but I've never finished the project. I have it squeezed into one of those handsome Australian-made (curved wood) cases.
someday...

[TheHatTuba]

Do you know the bell diameter?

bloke, is your horn one of the ones with a really wide vertical mts?

[bort2.0]

Oh I wish I could!

[bloke]

Do you know the bell diameter?

bloke, is your horn one of the ones with a really wide vertical mts?

I'd have to fetch it to answer your question, and this isn't my thread.

[TheBerlinerTuba]

And an X-Maß bump to the top!

[TheBerlinerTuba]

Bump