New plan for a BBb. (purchased a 601 BBb)

[bloke]

I'm sure I could make it work, but I'm not there to build it for you. I'm thinking maybe you could too if you took your time and measured really carefully and precision rebuilt each of those two slide assemblies. You wouldn't have one 33 inch rod, because you would have a teeter totter in the middle.

The payoff - for all that trouble - would be in the playing.

[Dents Be Gone!]

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

[LeMark]

. You wouldn't have one 33 inch rod, because you would have a teeter totter in the middle.

The payoff - for all that trouble - would be in the playing.

The nice thing about working with this model is because it's so open wrap it's very easy to add a tuning slide Rod to, I'm confident I can connect it securely to the valve section and then up by the first valve slide assembly and it will be secure

[bloke]

The teeter-totter thing would need a pair of holes drilled in it and 3 mm threads on each end, and then you need a flange and a little riser for both the main slide in the first slide with 3 mm female threads in them - for either Minibal links or scrounged Jinbao links. The mount for the teeter-totter would need to be in the best possible place to come down from the center of the first slide and go down to the center of the main slide, and you also might well need a three-dimensional offset. If you decide to just use dubro linkage, I guess you could use 4-40 threads.

I really think the thing that works out the neatest is that you can move the main slide with the first slide - even when you aren't using the first slide.

Allied Supply sells 1/8 in diameter nickel rod in 18-in lengths.
You can run either a 3 mm thread or a 4-40 thread onto that stuff. If you converted your first slide to an inside/outside, this might be just long enough to hook to the bottom of the outside tube on your first slide sliding assembly, and would get this thing out of the way of your hand by doing so...

(I don't think I would try to hook a pair of balanced springs onto the teeter-totter - for centering. Those things almost never work as intended.)

...and then fifth rotor, and you'd be all hot-rodded out.

[rodgeman]

Sorry for my late reply. It was very nice meeting you Mark and you certainly filled the parking lot with sound from the tuba. My son commented to me on how good you sounded. I am glad you like the tuba and have given it a good home.

Thanks again,
Rodger

[bloke]

Pictures (even skeletal, as is this one) are so much better than a bunch of rhetoric, yes?


Obviously, your tuba isn't going to be just like this one, and may well require somewhat different routing...

again: Label me a kook or a jeenyus.
> 1st valve slide ends up with extended tuning range (as rotary 1st valve slides usually aren't particularly long).
> Moving the 1st valve slide can tune any note - whether-or-not the 1st valve lever is depressed.

As previously stated, the two ends of the teeter-totter bar may well (ie. likely) need to be in different geometric planes.



edited

For this (adjustability) I would probably recommend a hex-sided hollow brass tube which is 50/50 right-hand/left-hand threads, and a pair of (obviously, same two thread directions) lock nuts.

You could do it with right-hand threads all the way through, but you would then need to unfasten it at the link end, in order to adjust it.

[LeMark]

This might be one of those wide slot instruments. I was playing simple slow intervals (think Canon in D) and everything locked right in. Well the F was a little flat

The D was basically in tune, but it easily lipped up to 30 cents sharp.

Now I'm not sure if I'll do anything to it or not. It might be nice to have a slightly shorter main tuning slide that I could bring up when needed

[LeMark]

Sat down today and took my time with the borescope and aligned all the valves again.

It's strange with this horn because it seem when one edge of the valve is lined up, the opposite edge isn't. I took the tact of making sure the air never hit a wall of an edge, and it seems to have helped. I was feeling more resistance than a 835 tuba should have, but it's better now

Didn't help the tuning, but by next week I should have the MTS shortened by an inch for bring up the notes that are a little flat and I'll have enough throw to make the D in tune

[arpthark]

Sat down today and took my time with the borescope and aligned all the valves again.

It's strange with this horn because it seem when one edge of the valve is lined up, the opposite edge isn't. I took the tact of making sure the air never hit a wall of an edge, and it seems to have helped. I was feeling more resistance than a 835 tuba should have, but it's better now

Didn't help the tuning, but by next week I should have the MTS shortened by an inch for bring up the notes that are a little flat and I'll have enough throw to make the D in tune

Isn't the problem that the rotors are not "scooped out" enough? I know Mark Jones has had that done on horns he's owned. @bisontuba

[LeMark]

It really does seem that the shape of the valve doesn't match the interior shape of the valve casings at all

[bloke]

Quite a long time ago - probably at the place that has sunk into quicksand, I was talking about how it seemed to me that the piggy and kaiser Czech tubas - which were really large bore - just used the 681 rotors without changing the design of the rotors to match the larger bore of those larger bore instruments. I don't recall that my observations/comments went anywhere.

That might explain why - the first time I ever played a 601 B-flat (that a high school in Memphis bought, probably from that place in New Jersey that was importing a lot of those instruments in the 1980s), that - when I tried to play loud low pitches - I got what I've identified several times online as a "death rattle".

You could have tons of fun with a dremel, but you had better buy several dozen of those little grinders.

stirring the pot more by continuing to be real:
Nope. That's not going to change any intonation characteristics, any more than changing out a mouthpipe will.

[LeMark]

Well my 601 BBb is probably from the 60's, and my 68 is from the late 70's or early 80's. I should measure the rotors and see how they compare

My CC 601 is a late 80's horn, and it's in the hands of a good friend at the moment

[LeMark]

I have a very interesting idea on how to incorporate the meat slicer taken off this horn into a future upgrade. Stay tuned for details!

[Mary Ann]

Ha, I am being more and more convinced to stay with Miraphones. We shall see if a 3/4 BBb Mphone graces my living room in the future.

[bloke]

There could be a 1 in 77.2 chance that the person who owns the 282 that I played might end up swapping stuff with me, but we haven't even discussed anything - other than them telling me that they would really like to own one of my personal instruments.

[tofu]

[

[bloke]

Whatever they are for, when I sell a tuba with a tall one, I un-solder them, cut them down to the profile of a modern Miraphone keel, file, sand, and buff them, and reinstall them. One time, I showed that part (quite tall) to a person who was going to buy a tuba from me, and they told me to leave it as it was. Obviously, I respected their wishes - particularly since it was easier to simply leave it alone.

[Tubajug]

Shortened the main tuning slide by one inch today, had to work on the large inner slide to get it to work smoothy, and moved the cross bar from the tuning slide to the outer slide side.

I'm in the process of making a whole new cross bar for the crook so I can attach the tuning stick to it

[Kirley]

Finished the tuning stick. I can bring it in 2 inches for flat notes, and out about an inch for sharp notes. 3 inches total travel, and most notes are in tune with it 2 inches out

Used the meat slicer that was taken off as a wrist rest. One of my better ideas if I do say so. The leverage help me bring the stick to the farthest in position


As for the rest of the horn, it's feeling better and better. The way it feels greatly depends on the room it's in. Unfortunately, the worst room I found is my music studio. I bring it out to the larger room like the den and it sounds fantastic

[arpthark]

Cool way to recycle that part!