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I have a Bohm and Meinl 5520C tuba for sale. This is a 4 piston valve, big tuba. The bell is about 20 inches, and the bore is .750, making this a significantly bigger tuba than a Conn 56j / Eastman 632. It's really easy to make a huge sound! A beat up Tuba Exchange branded gig bag is included, and I am located in suburban Chicago. I am willing to drive to facilitate a sale, and would be willing to ship, though with the huge bell, it'd likely be expensive. The bell has definitely been rolled out at some point, and there are several, medium sized dents in the bottom bow. The horn was recently cleaned by Dana Hofer. The right trade might be of interest to me as well.

Several modifications have been made to the horn. Numerous Saturn water keys have been added. A slide pull ring has been installed on the second valve. And all 4 pistons have been vented, allowing for silent slide pulls that don't affect your airstream.

Playing characteristics are typical of these horns. With the big bore, it can really move the Earth, with a pretty, American sound. It is extremely responsive for a horn of its size, and is capable of being played extremely loudly without breaking up. Low register is huge!

Intonation is alright, but not perfect. The main problem is that the D and Db in the staff are flat, which can be addressed by pushing the main tuning slide in. Slots are very wide as well. For low register notes, the upward facing fourth and main tuning slides make a fifth valve not as necessary. 2+4 can be easily pulled to put F# in tune, 1 4 pull and 234 push make F and E in tune, and 134 with a pull makes Eb in tune. I like a Sellmansberger imperial with the cup extender a lot more than a Helleberg on this tuba, and a PT88 works great too.

I can be contacted on this forum or at d a k t x 2 [at] g m a i l . com

Oh nice! I like it!!

Is the leadpipe removable? That's an interesting brace...

Looks like a great horn. I played a BBb one of these at Dan Schultz's house once upon a time. Nice tuba!

@Tubajug, great spot, the leadpipe is removable! It's very nifty. I remember reading that some of these came with 2 leadpipes from the factory, though I only have the 1. It does make cleaning really easy though!

Freshly chem cleaned bump!

Cross posting and price drop bump!

Second price drop bump!

daktx2 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 6:34 am @Tubajug, great spot, the leadpipe is removable! It's very nifty. I remember reading that some of these came with 2 leadpipes from the factory, though I only have the 1. It does make cleaning really easy though!

I had the 2nd loop added circa 1990. Foolish ute that I was, I naively asked the repairman (Tom at the Music Shop in Boonton, NJ) if he thought it would stay on. He sternly looked at me and said that he wouldn't have put it on if he thought it was going to come off. He was right, 34 years later it has held.

It originally had leadpipes labeled L and S. I preferred the S back then, but you could probably get more versatility and control out of using the L and dialing in the mouthpiece backbore and throat.

Cool that it was your old horn @martyneilan, and thanks for the natural bump!

I just took a look and the mouthpipe is labeled "L" so it looks like the larger pipe is the one that is included.

Bump!

Price drop bump! Make me an offer! This will be consigned if this goes on much longer, but I'd like to avoid the drive!

Don't misunderstand the comment...
(NOT saying "I think this was made by Kurath"...NOT NOT NOT !!!)

...but that receiver brace is reminiscent of what I've encountered on those Willson "Travel Tubas".