Page 1 of 1

American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:14 pm
by jtuba
In the past I’ve used foil tape on American shanks to make it work. Wondering what other types of solutions if any are out there. Thanks

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 1:47 pm
by bloke
As a fancy-schmancy mouthpiece-designer, that solution (assuming "using THAT mouthpiece") seems as good as any to me, and certainly affordable.

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 2:05 pm
by bort2.0
Longer-term solutions:
* Have an AGR put on your tuba, so you can use either shank
* Replace the receiver with a Standard receiver
* Replace or re-shank your mouthpiece with a Euro shank

I've got the opposite problem, Euro mouthpiece in a standard receiver.

After thinking through the options, I ended up deciding to just ignore it. :eyes:

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 3:15 pm
by Three Valves
One used to be able to get a metal adapter thingy but I'm not aware of anyone making one presently.

The last being Wessex.

Foil it is!!

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:16 pm
by basshorn
Dental floss on too small shanks. Shaved down shanks for the oposite. Ignoring it if the difference isn‘t major.

Greetings basshorn

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:53 pm
by bloke
AGR's are ok on instruments that feature SOLDER-ON receivers (where a mouthpipe tube ENDS and a receiver STARTS), but is butchery on a mouthpipe with an extruded receiver (shaped into the mouthpipe tube itself - more common: with rotary-valves tubas).
stigma: AGR (often wrongly) hints at "Someone didn't like the way this tuba plays, so they began 'trying' things."

adapters: to adapt a standard to euro WITHOUT the mouthpiece hanging WAY farther out that it otherwise would, the adapter will need to be (well...) just about the very thickness of foil tape. :teeth:

...which is why I thought that Br'er basshorn's solution is just about the best anyone could devise. :smilie8:

"Reshanking" a mouthpiece (as was done by Vladimir at Dillion Music on a lathe...chopping down the mouthpiece shank exterior down to a cylinder. slipping a fitted hollow cylinder of brass over that, soldering it into place, turning it down to a larger shank size) is probably pretty expensive. I certainly wouldn't do that for "cheap"...
...and then - when the euro-receiver tuba is sold 2,4, 6, 8 years later, then what?

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:40 pm
by Mark E. Chachich
Before my good friend and excellent instrument repairman (now retired) Randy Harrison grafted an Alexander shank onto my Bach 7 mouthpiece, I wrapped the shank with electricians tape, it worked (not as well as what Randy did). Another thing that was suggested to me was to get a metal sleave, put it on the mouthpiece and bore it out.

Best,
Mark

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:45 pm
by Mark E. Chachich
Sorry for the double post.

Best,
Mark
[/quote]

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:23 pm
by bloke
I suppose the "grit" solution would be to saw 1/4 inch of the back of the mouthpiece, and then ream out the back-bore with a Harbor Freight reamer...

bloke "eek" :facepalm2:

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:49 pm
by Billy M.
bloke wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:53 pm AGR's are ok on instruments that feature SOLDER-ON receivers (where a mouthpipe tube ENDS and a receiver STARTS), but is butchery on a mouthpipe with an extruded receiver (shaped into the mouthpipe tube itself - more common: with rotary-valves tubas).
stigma: AGR (often wrongly) hints at "Someone didn't like the way this tuba plays, so they began 'trying' things."
My very nice, very unique, very expensive Rudi Meinl has one of those extruded receivers. I couldn't imagine doing anything as harmful to that horn as lopping off the handiwork of Meister Meinl. Better to spend hundreds (thousands?) of dollars finding the right mouthpiece for the horn than to ruin what I think is a work of art.

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:09 pm
by bort2.0
Billy, the plain ol Rudy RM1 (no dot) absolutely lit up my old Rudy Meinl. Actually, I had an older RM1 that I never should have sold (but did), and that was even better. Didn't need to overthink stuff on that tuba!

Kind of miss that horn, maybe another RM 4/4 wouldn't be a bad idea.

PS, Vladimir retired. Not sure who does this kind of work anymore. Stork...?

Re: American shank in Euro receiver

Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 1:00 pm
by pjv
Plumbers tape. I use it on...the euro shank of my blokepiece symphony. It hits up against the lead pipe on my Hagen 496 so I use just a bit to tighten the fit. (funny cause the solo and imperial euro shanks don't do this).

I've also used a cut-up ballon which isn't bad in a pinch.