Posted by Klaus on November 07, 2001 at 19:01:17:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Balt. Brass visit plus King questions posted by Rick Denney on November 07, 2001 at 15:51:58:
Aside from some private dimension mails, I was sure that I referred to some of your euph repair reports in this board. Sorry if I was wrong about that.
I am not against hybridasation of instruments. That is, if one is out for experiments in the direction of improvements. In fact the oldfashioned way of making prototypes in Europe was to combine existing parts in new combinations. I understand, that this was also the type of procedure behind the new Conn CC tubas.
But I am not too enthusiastic about hybridisation for repair purposes. At least not as long as I see other ways of repairs.
My understanding is, that the dedenting of the Besson euph bottom bow made it difficult, if not impossible, to remount the bow guard. A procedure, that no even highly pro repairmen find easy because of the less than congruent stretchings bow and guard tend to undergo during the process.
The guard is a guard as the name says. It is from purely geometrical reason necessary because tubing will thin out in wall thickness on the outside of the bow during the bending process. No matter whether this is done the older lead filled way or by diverse hydraulic or air pressure methods. The latter one applies for the Besson.
In my vocabulary the guards of course are important as "fenders". Especially for younger players and for people doing marching and stage jobs.
But their most important effect for me is their addition of weight and stiffness to the "thinned-out-wall-thickness" areas. Seen (really: heard) in an acoustic context. The guards shall hinder/dampen unwanted material vibrations, be they sympathetic or, even worse, not.
But for handymen like you, there are other methods known from brass making technologies.
Steven Mead told me about how he had suggested the removal of the "fender-rod" on the top bow-branch of one of the Sovereign euph revisions. As I considered exactly that fender-rod a major contributor to the qualities of my YEP641 euph, I had to disagree with him.
When I some time later started my researches for a comp Eb tuba I asked about the existence of an equivalent fender-rod on some models before I even invested in a train ticket to test them. As important that rod is for me on the 641, as important I consider it on my Besson 981 Eb bass.
(Of course the lightweight, over-responsive nature of the equivalent, non-fendered, 7xx Besson Eb with exactly the same bell, branches, and bore was a part of my considerations).
The purpose of this lengthy posting is to tell, that before you replace your bottom bow, you might consider to solder some fender rods on it. Getting them with halfcircle profiles and bending them would be minor problems for you.
(Once more I have run into net access problems. The price level of my back-up line will prevent me from joining an immediate ping-pong exchange).
Klaus