Afterwards, and with great care, the original bell kranz was peeled off the bell, much like banana skin, but with nickel silver. Logically so, along with the valves, the bell is truly the heart and soul of this tuba and considering its experienced over 130 years of use, it definitely needed some serious attention.ДЇirst the bell was cleaned and cleaned and scrubbed and cleaned again just to remove the old dirt, grease and gunk. When we left off last year, the valve block was soldered together and now my attention was drawn to the bell. Hello dear reader, much has happened in the past months and although the B&F is almost finished, I found myself so busy that sadly I have had little time to post here, but IвЂ™m back and I have lots to share! Considering the price difference, I still might take the WeltklangвЂ¦ The more modern Rudolph Meinl and Hirsbrunner both could be had with 5 valves and larger bores although adding a 5th valve to the Weltklang is not a difficult project. The Alexander is a larger tuba and does put out more sound. Only when you compare to other 1970s higher end rotary Eb tubas like the Alexander 154, Rudolph Meinl Eb, or Hirsbrunner Eb then you start to be a bit more critical. If you were to compare to the various mass produced rotary Ebs available in the 70s such as the Miraphone 183 or the Cerveny 651, the Weltklang is far and away the superior instrument. The goldbrass body keeps the sound nice, even when you really step on it. The low range is great, especially the low Bb which jumps out faster than I would have imagined. It has a very even response throughout its range and the intonation is excellent. In terms of playing characteristics, this is really quite a nice tuba. However there are B&S tubas with sheet ferrels and Weltklang tubas with 3D ferrels such as our featured tubaвЂ¦so take what is on the bell with a grain of salt.ДЄnd if you are going to cut, at least do it on the centerline so itвЂ™s less obvious. Also they will also have ferrels made from sheet nickelsilver rather than the 3D versions on the B&S.

Often the valve casings were brass instead of nickelsilver. Some Weltklang instruments do have some money saving features. A small mistake can ruin an entire instrument assembly therefore most apprentices spent some time in the highbrass department and under a very watchful eye before making their way to tubas and other low brass.Дў. In fact, often until it was engraved, it could have been either orвЂ¦What many people donвЂ™t realize, building tubas was and is not a great place to вЂњlearnвЂќ. The quality of work was identical regardless of whether it had B&S or Weltklang engraved on the bell. Having spoken with former B&S workers who were there in the 1970s, here is what I can tell you.ДЎ. There is a great deal of speculation whether Weltklang and B&S instruments differ, with some people saying Weltklang was the cheaper version and that it was built by less skilled workers using cheaper materials. Compared to its cheaper versions, this Model 92 has generous amounts of nickelsilver.

Bbb hirsbrunner tuba