Posted by Mike Solms on February 28, 2003 at 08:29:03:
In Reply to: old B&S-made Schneider rotary tubas posted by JS on February 27, 2003 at 00:27:49:
Joe and Gerd,
According to Bob Tucci, the same tuba was marketed in Europe under the "Weltklang" label, and in the U.S. under three different stencils- Schneider, Ziess, and Sonora. This horn was eventualy replaced in the B&S lineup with the design that is now sold as the PT-1. Bob said one of the main reasons for the change was that the old design required a lot more hand bending, particularly in the fourth valve tubing.
During the '50's and '60's there were a number of Chinese engineers on exchange programs with (then) Communist eastern European concerns. They took some designs and tooling back to China with them This is why, for example, there are currently factories in China building copies of Russian copies of BMW motorcycles. The Weltklang B&S BBflat is one design that made the journey. The "Sanders Imperial" marketed by Custom is the latest incarnation of that same tuba. When I owned a Ziess BBflat I had occasion to compare it side-by-side with the Sanders. They were very. very close. In fact, Kevin Powers was able to put an experimental leadpipe he had made while working on the Sanders development on my Ziess. It fit right on with no muss or fuss.
That horn is currently in the hands of a really fine high school player and is still going strong. It remains one of the better BBflats I've ever played.