TubaForum.net

tubro wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:31 am Thanks for your Informations they are really helpful! That sounds like a very good Tuba on a reasonable price level!! Why did they stop to build them? Because the canadian Brass endorsement ended?

Lee Stofer wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 3:42 pm The Getzen CB-50 and G-50 tubas were of a very good design and made of generally very good parts. There were several small but important design elements that failed to optimize what the design can do, so my mission has been to try to make the necessary changes to make this compact 4/4 CC play as if York had indeed engineered and built it. I really like a tuba that is completely consistent in response from one note to the next, and having superior intonation, as well as a beautiful, balanced tonal quality.

The fact that the Getzens were good but not as good as they could have been may have hurt sales. The model CB-50 was made for about a year or so in the early 1990's, until the Canadian Brass agreement was terminated. A few more were made between 1993 and 2001 as model G-50, and then the line was discontinued, the remaining parts collecting dust in a warehouse until they made me an offer to help them clean out the warehouse in 2013, purchasing the remaining Getzen tuba parts.

To date I have crafted six new custom CC tubas and sold them. I built Stofer CC #0006 this Spring, and shipped it to Tokyo, Japan early in the Summer.
Stofer CC #007 (the James Bond Tuba ;^) is in the works, and I'm traveling to Martin Wilk's this weekend to pick up more MAW pistons and MAW rotors.
I just serviced serial #003 for the owner this morning, and was delighted to see it still in such good condition.

I have had the privilege of renovating and improving a number of Getzen CB/G-50's. Having sorted out the problems with the Getzen, I add several braces where needed and remove two that actually detract from the performance. I then re-taper the leadpipe to be conical-enough to actually fit the 5th rotor tubing, eliminating stepped ferrules or other ways of cheating to make it fit. This makes a tremendous difference in the overall playing qualities of the instrument, particularly the intonation, and power in all registers. To anyone that would like their Getzen tuba "balanced and blueprinted," I would invite them to contact me about having the upgrades done.

Although May 15, 2019 through May of this year felt like an uphill battle fighting prostate cancer, I successfully have emerged from the treatments cancer-free, and able to go running again, as well as continuing to run the shop on a daily basis. I did turn over the North American handling of the Schlipf tuba mutes to Chris Hite and Buddy Roger's Music in Cincinatti, as they are better equipped for retail sales, and my shop is on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

As Mark Twain once said, "New of my death is greatly exaggerated."

bort2.0 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 6:12 pm
Typically, I haven't loved the G-50, because of its short height ... The bell is just too close to my head. Not comfortable, and a weird feedback sensation compared to what I'm used to.