Re: Barlow F's


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Posted by Rick Denney on January 27, 2003 at 15:48:04:

In Reply to: Barlow F's posted by Harry Barlow Fan on January 25, 2003 at 10:35:50:

Yes, you are correct, and I was the one who was misleading. Thanks for the correction.

The orchestral F tubas varied in size and configuration quite a bit, but the Barlow models all had five uncompensated valves in the 3+2 arrangement now common on the Courtois Saxhorn Basse (which is really a euphonium in Bb). What they shared with the compensating F's was a narrow bell stack and a small bell. The stack is straighter than current Besson models, or even some of the older ones, that have a very fast taper from a smallish bottom bow to a large bell throat (whether or not the bell flare itself is all that wide). Think Conn 2J instead of a new Besson Eb, but, of course, smaller.

The one I played for a few minutes was a compensating F.

Cliff Bevan included a lot of detail about the British orchestral F's in the latest edition of The Tuba Family, including a partial inventory of known extant examples.

Rick "who recommends the book highly" Denney


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