Early Eb Tuba by C.G. Conn
This Eb tuba, serial number 2392, was made in 1879 or early 1880, just
months after the break up of the partnership between Conn and Eugene
Dupont. Conn and Dupont made their first cornet in 1876 and were
making larger instruments including tubas within a year or two. This
particular valve design was patented in 1879 by Conn and Dupont together
even after the partnership was history. The design is very simple and
clever, allowing for a very light and small piston and making the action
very quick. These have two passages through the pistons rather than the
three needed in other piston valves (five holes rather than six). The
woodcut from a Conn catalog below shows one of these pistons next to a
standard Perinet piston. The catalog calls it the "Equa-Tone valve" in
some cases and "Conic Clear Bore Valve" in others. The goal was to
eliminate restrictions in bore through the pistons that was common to all
Perinet style piston valves, shorten the stroke and reduce the weight,
resulting in a lighter, quicker valve action. In the up position, the air
column makes a very sharp 180 degree turn inside of each piston but
without constriction. When depressed, the bore goes through the piston
twice, once straight through and the second takes two 90 degree turns.
The only weakness that I can see is that there is actually a slight bulge in
the bore in that second pass. I would assume that this valve design was
short lived because the standard Perinet piston valves were thought to be
superior in that the air makes shorter turns inside the valve. This is
fallacious thinking and my experience is that Conn instruments with this
valve design have excellent playing qualities I'm surprised that Conn
dropped them and no other maker seems to have taken up the design.
This particular tuba has had a rough life, suffering abuse and unskilled
repairs, making it not very playable. I've never done any repairs or
restoration work on it. It is 30 1/4" tall, the bell rim diameter is 14 1/2"
and the bore measures .620". This is small by modern standards but is
quite typical for the 1870s and 1880s. I played an almost identical tuba,
belonging to Mark Metzler that was in better shape, in a brass band
concert in a reconstruction of Conn's band shell in Elkhart, Indiana (photo
below). Even with my weak playing ability, it played the bass line nicely.
All the instruments used in this concert were made by Conn in the 1870s,
'80s and '90s. The close up photos of the bell to the left, show some
interesting details. Conn's bells were all made with a gusset, or triangle
shaped piece, added to the bell flare to help form it's shape. In this case,
there is a second, smaller gusset added beside it. In addition, there is a
circle of brass, visible under the engraving. These two pieces were brazed
in during the original manufacturing process, presumably to repair
mistakes. The bell maker must have had difficulty forming the bell,
tearing it at the gusset and kinking or creasing it further down on the
opposite side where the brass is compressed during this work. This
required the circle to be cut out and a new piece added. Having made
bells myself, I understand how easily this can happen. When the brass is
thoroughly polished, these brazed lines are hardly visible but when
tarnished and deteriorated with age, they stand out clearly in these
photographs. This tuba was obviously engraved by Jake Gardiner, Conn's
early famous master engraver. His style and quality are unmistakable after
seeing a few signed examples. Conn set the trend in the industry, with
elaborate high quality engraving on every instrument. Other US
manufacturers followed suit very soon. This tradition lasted until about
1970, when it became too expensive to have engravers on staff in a world
that builds to a price point rather than competing in quality and esthetic.
Click on images for larger views.
months after the break up of the partnership between Conn and Eugene
Dupont. Conn and Dupont made their first cornet in 1876 and were
making larger instruments including tubas within a year or two. This
particular valve design was patented in 1879 by Conn and Dupont together
even after the partnership was history. The design is very simple and
clever, allowing for a very light and small piston and making the action
very quick. These have two passages through the pistons rather than the
three needed in other piston valves (five holes rather than six). The
woodcut from a Conn catalog below shows one of these pistons next to a
standard Perinet piston. The catalog calls it the "Equa-Tone valve" in
some cases and "Conic Clear Bore Valve" in others. The goal was to
eliminate restrictions in bore through the pistons that was common to all
Perinet style piston valves, shorten the stroke and reduce the weight,
resulting in a lighter, quicker valve action. In the up position, the air
column makes a very sharp 180 degree turn inside of each piston but
without constriction. When depressed, the bore goes through the piston
twice, once straight through and the second takes two 90 degree turns.
The only weakness that I can see is that there is actually a slight bulge in
the bore in that second pass. I would assume that this valve design was
short lived because the standard Perinet piston valves were thought to be
superior in that the air makes shorter turns inside the valve. This is
fallacious thinking and my experience is that Conn instruments with this
valve design have excellent playing qualities I'm surprised that Conn
dropped them and no other maker seems to have taken up the design.
This particular tuba has had a rough life, suffering abuse and unskilled
repairs, making it not very playable. I've never done any repairs or
restoration work on it. It is 30 1/4" tall, the bell rim diameter is 14 1/2"
and the bore measures .620". This is small by modern standards but is
quite typical for the 1870s and 1880s. I played an almost identical tuba,
belonging to Mark Metzler that was in better shape, in a brass band
concert in a reconstruction of Conn's band shell in Elkhart, Indiana (photo
below). Even with my weak playing ability, it played the bass line nicely.
All the instruments used in this concert were made by Conn in the 1870s,
'80s and '90s. The close up photos of the bell to the left, show some
interesting details. Conn's bells were all made with a gusset, or triangle
shaped piece, added to the bell flare to help form it's shape. In this case,
there is a second, smaller gusset added beside it. In addition, there is a
circle of brass, visible under the engraving. These two pieces were brazed
in during the original manufacturing process, presumably to repair
mistakes. The bell maker must have had difficulty forming the bell,
tearing it at the gusset and kinking or creasing it further down on the
opposite side where the brass is compressed during this work. This
required the circle to be cut out and a new piece added. Having made
bells myself, I understand how easily this can happen. When the brass is
thoroughly polished, these brazed lines are hardly visible but when
tarnished and deteriorated with age, they stand out clearly in these
photographs. This tuba was obviously engraved by Jake Gardiner, Conn's
early famous master engraver. His style and quality are unmistakable after
seeing a few signed examples. Conn set the trend in the industry, with
elaborate high quality engraving on every instrument. Other US
manufacturers followed suit very soon. This tradition lasted until about
1970, when it became too expensive to have engravers on staff in a world
that builds to a price point rather than competing in quality and esthetic.
Click on images for larger views.
