Conn CC Tubas

[tubro]

I have a question about the Conn CC Tubas. What is the difference between the 52J - 54J - 56J model ? Thanks for your help

[Matt Walters]

52J = 18" bell flair
54J = 19" bell flair
56J = 20" bell flair

[iiipopes]

What Matt said. Everything else about all three tubas are nominally the same. When they first came out, a friend of mine, a retired Coast Guard tuba player, was a school rep for a local music store. I got to sit in with him sequentially auditioning all three in community band over the course of a season. I thought the 54J had the best balance of breadth and core. He even tried the bypass tube to see how the horn responded in place of the 5th valve circuit which Conn ******-** Matt's original design. The tuba did blow a little freer, but in the end, he put the 5th valve back on to help low range intonation.

[Doc]

What Matt said. Everything else about all three tubas are nominally the same. When they first came out, a friend of mine, a retired Coast Guard tuba player, was a school rep for a local music store. I got to sit in with him sequentially auditioning all three in community band over the course of a season. I thought the 54J had the best balance of breadth and core. He even tried the bypass tube to see how the horn responded in place of the 5th valve circuit which Conn ******-** Matt's original design. The tuba did blow a little freer, but in the end, he put the 5th valve back on to help low range intonation.

Unless I just got a whopping deal on a Conn, I'd pass it up. The Eastman 632 plays circles around those Conns, since Eastman apparently listened to @Matt Walters. I'd get a 632 and not look back.

[matt g]

Yeah, get a 632 or one of Matt’s horns he built himself over the years of the same idea that pop up time to time. Great all-purpose horns.

[bort2.0]

My one beef about the Conn isn't how it plays, but how far forward from the body the valve section goes. It just keeps going, and going... Not comfortable for me, looks funny, and might be easier to damage?

[bloke]

My one beef about the Conn isn't how it plays, but how far forward from the body the valve section goes. It just keeps going, and going... Not comfortable for me, looks funny, and might be easier to damage?

agreed.
It's easy to "stick" a valveset ON to a tuba.
It requires thought and planning to INSTALL a valveset WITHIN a tuba.

[bort2.0]

My one beef about the Conn isn't how it plays, but how far forward from the body the valve section goes. It just keeps going, and going... Not comfortable for me, looks funny, and might be easier to damage?

agreed.
It's easy to "stick" a valveset ON to a tuba.
It requires thought and planning to INSTALL a valveset WITHIN a tuba.

Ok... A MUCH better way to say what I was thinking. Thanks, Joe.

[Yorkboy]

My one beef about the Conn isn't how it plays, but how far forward from the body the valve section goes. It just keeps going, and going... Not comfortable for me, looks funny, and might be easier to damage?

agreed.
It's easy to "stick" a valveset ON to a tuba.
It requires thought and planning to INSTALL a valveset WITHIN a tuba.

[Yorkboy]

Also, the peculiarities of the King 4th valve porting (entrance and exit on the same side of the casing, because it is in actuality a 2nd valve casing) makes it a slightly more daunting challenge to tube the circuit in a "tasteful" way ......CS responded by piling all the tubing up on one side, to the point where it protrudes all over the place.

[bloke]

If I can get this to "nestle", I may well leave this alone (other than precision alignment of tubing)...because I'd like to finish this quickly, and move on to things that actually generate income.
...meh...I might redo the #1 circuit, IF there's bell clearance...(??)

[Yorkboy]

Would you be interested in putting a 4th valve "pull" on the top? (I personally almost never use - or need - it, but I feel compelled, for some reason...... )

[tubro]

Thanks for all the Informations!! I'm thinking if purchasing a 4/4 CC Tuba but don't wanna spend 15000$ for it so I thought a used conn would be a good choice! Do you have other non Chinese suggestions in an affordable price range? I once tried a meinl weston 2145 and was not impressed with it.....

[bloke]

Come on, man...

[LeMark]

For a non Chinese horn, find a good used miraphone 186 or 188, or a used cerveny

Not sure what you didn't like about the 2145, I think they are amazing, except for the fact that I get along with rotor tubas better

[tubro]

Intonation was difficult on the 2145.....

[LeMark]

I don't think that's typical of them at all, I find them to be very Point and shoot

[bloke]

There were a few 2144 tubas, yes?
It would seem to me that (intonation quirks aside) the advantage of the (albeit rare) 2144 was that it actually had a tuning slide, yes?

I friend of mine bought (what they believed to be) the 2144 prototype off eBay, and immediately fell in love with many of the playing characteristics...but sold it quite soon thereafter...quantity of intonation quirks, I'm thinking...

re: Conn 2J/3J tubas...

I have spent very little time with them (though I've repaired a couple of them)...

Is the large side of the main slide 11/16" bore?

[Yorkboy]

re: Conn 2J/3J tubas...

I have spent very little time with them (though I've repaired a couple of them)...

Is the large side of the main slide 11/16" bore?

Yes, to the ones I've seen (.687). Same with the 4J/5J