Re: Re: Re: Anyone know anything about this maker?


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Posted by Rick Denney on January 09, 2004 at 10:40:29:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Anyone know anything about this maker? posted by zale86 on January 09, 2004 at 07:44:14:

I suspect the photos on Klaus's site would not have answered your questions.

The pictures you show seem like a typical Graslitz F tuba from around the turn of the last century. One rotary tuba looks much like another, so it's impossible to determine from pictures whether it has any special value. Instruments like this range from unplayable wall-hangers to great instruments. That your father owned and played the instrument is a better starting point than its appearance.

Grazlitz was the center of tuba and instrument manufacture in that period, when that part of what is now the Czech Republic was part of Germany. Many instruments are still made in that area, including Cerveny and Lidl, and the good ones are still good. Markneukirchen and Kliengenthal, which is in the former East Germany, is nearby, and is now a major center of instrument making as well.

The instrument looks as though it was made in high pitch, and has a low-pitch tuning slide fitted. This is typical of instruments made before the 1920's, when pitch standards started to stabilize.

I would take it to your local symphony pro and have them play-test it to see if it has any intrinsic musical value. I think the lack of response on the brand suggests that it won't have any special collector value beyond just being old. With rare exceptions, tubas tend to have value proportional to their musical worth rather than their historical interest.

Rick "who would caution against expecting too much" Denney


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