Looking to screw bell my Bach 50A3

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:41 pm

Hey all, like the title says I am looking to do a screw bell conversion to my Bach 50AF3. Looking for a good tech.
I would greatly prefer not to ship, as that would bring the price up even higher. I live about an hour west of Albany NY. If the price is right I would have them trim my Gb to a G while at it.
Thanks for any help.
Eli

Burgerbob · Post by **Burgerbob** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:46 pm

Get the screw ring from Instrument Innovations. They have a 50-specific one.

Schlitz · Post by **Schlitz** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 8:30 pm

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 2:38 pm

What size and gauge bell?

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:02 am

It is a 9 1/2in bell but I am not sure on the gauge. I amended my initial post to show that it is a 50A3 Hagmann valves not and AF3 Infinity valves. I had bid and won a 50AF3 on Ebay but to my surprise a 50A3 showed up. The seller and I came to an agreement and I was not terribly displeased. Due to that fact though I always remember it as an AF3. I believe it to be the strait stock 50A3. It was basically a brand new horn(customer return) I can not find a serial number on the bell, but only the slide.

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:06 am

Schlitz wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2019 8:30 pm I have that ring set, from Olsen (Ins Inv). Very straightforward. Call Mike and git r done.

I spoke with Kim Olsen yesterday. Very quick response and very helpful. She informed me that they have a ring set
for the 50b and was not sure if it would fit my horn or not.. Any thoughts? Also she recommended Jeff Gittleson of Long Island Brass. Anyone have experience with him? He is about 4-5 hours away from me which basically puts it in the shipping territory anyway. Thanks for the help.

shider · Post by **shider** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:22 am

EZSlider wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:06 am Also she recommended Jeff Gittleson of Long Island Brass. Anyone have experience with him? He is about 4-5 hours away from me which basically puts it in the shipping territory anyway. Thanks for the help.

I assume the Forum User LIBrassCo is him

He posts regularly on Facebook, so you can look at a few pictures there. Both under his private and company account. Definitely worth a look, though i never ordered from him.

Greetings,
shider

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:25 am

shider wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:22 am
EZSlider wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:06 am Also she recommended Jeff Gittleson of Long Island Brass. Anyone have experience with him? He is about 4-5 hours away from me which basically puts it in the shipping territory anyway. Thanks for the help.
I assume the Forum User LIBrassCo is him
He posts regularly on Facebook, so you can look at a few pictures there. Both under his private and company account. Definitely worth a look, though i never ordered from him.

Greetings,
shider

Haha I realized about two seconds after posting that LIBrassCo is very likely him.
That bodes well for him I suppose.
Feel free to contact me if that is you Jeff.

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:49 am

Yup, thats me. Kim and I discussed your bell, and what ring they have. Im not sure if the gauge has any effect on fitment, it theory it could. I'll follow up to see if their ring is for that size bell, which id guess it is.

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:01 am

Very good friend, thank you. Just spent a few checking out your work. Very very nice stuff! I also enjoyed Yeo's novel on altobone.. As I stated in the initial post I would also like to trim my Gb to G.. I toyed around with the idea of trimming it myself, and honestly probably would/could have, but why bother if I need it to go to a tech for the ring anyway. I envy your shop

I am a metal worker/ fabricator/ plumber/ pretty much you name it, but lack a lot of the tooling that would enable me to do much of what I desire. I look forward to hearing more from you, and hopefully getting to work with you on this project.
I am in Oneonta NY by the way.

Burgerbob · Post by **Burgerbob** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 11:22 am

The ring will fit. It's for 50s.

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:02 pm

Schlitz wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 1:17 pm
EZSlider wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:06 am I spoke with Kim Olsen yesterday. Very quick response and very helpful. She informed me that they have a ring set
for the 50b and was not sure if it would fit my horn or not.. Any thoughts? Also she recommended Jeff Gittleson of Long Island Brass. Anyone have experience with him? He is about 4-5 hours away from me which basically puts it in the shipping territory anyway. Thanks for the help.
Just keep in mind he’s a former fitness equipment salesman, pop tart eater, and generally slow on the intake of online sarcasm. He has some interesting work, a lighter horn in Db, and other curious creations. It doesn’t appear, from what I’ve searched, that he plays saxophone, or viola. I wouldn’t want someone playing one of those instruments, working on my horns.

Yeah, if Kim recommends him, it’s probably/reasonably safe to send your horn to him.

I have really low expectations on repair/modifications, but I’m guessing he’s more than capable. If he was really capable, he’d have a compact, front action, compensating euphonium for left handed people. Dumbbells to screwbells......oh well.....

Put the horn in the mail and hope for the best......

Im not sure where you got fitness equipment salesman from (of all the things I've done, that's not one of them), and i don't know what pop tart eater is suposed to mean, but i doubt you mean anything good.

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:07 pm

EZSlider wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:01 am Very good friend, thank you. Just spent a few checking out your work. Very very nice stuff! I also enjoyed Yeo's novel on altobone.. As I stated in the initial post I would also like to trim my Gb to G.. I toyed around with the idea of trimming it myself, and honestly probably would/could have, but why bother if I need it to go to a tech for the ring anyway. I envy your shop I am a metal worker/ fabricator/ plumber/ pretty much you name it, but lack a lot of the tooling that would enable me to do much of what I desire. I look forward to hearing more from you, and hopefully getting to work with you on this project.
I am in Oneonta NY by the way.

Awesome man. It may be more than just a trim to get to G, I have to see the horn. Can you post some photos?

mrdeacon · Post by **mrdeacon** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:08 pm

Hit up John Sandhagen in California. He cuts bells frequently and does fantastic work. He's even putting new valves on my Minick as we speak! A job I wouldn't give to just any random tech!

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:11 pm

LIBrassCo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:07 pm
EZSlider wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:01 am Very good friend, thank you. Just spent a few checking out your work. Very very nice stuff! I also enjoyed Yeo's novel on altobone.. As I stated in the initial post I would also like to trim my Gb to G.. I toyed around with the idea of trimming it myself, and honestly probably would/could have, but why bother if I need it to go to a tech for the ring anyway. I envy your shop I am a metal worker/ fabricator/ plumber/ pretty much you name it, but lack a lot of the tooling that would enable me to do much of what I desire. I look forward to hearing more from you, and hopefully getting to work with you on this project.
I am in Oneonta NY by the way.

Awesome man. It may be more than just a trim to get to G, I have to see the horn. Can you post some photos?

Sure thing.. Will post some tomorrow.

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:16 pm

mrdeacon wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:08 pm Hit up John Sandhagen in California. He cuts bells frequently and does fantastic work. He's even putting new valves on my Minick as we speak! A job I wouldn't give to just any random tech!

I'd be happy to provide samples of my work, well beyond fitting valves, as I'm not "just any random tech".

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:22 pm

This link is to an Olsen valve section i made, and you can follow it to the rest of my photos for anyone interested.

mrdeacon · Post by **mrdeacon** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:25 pm

LIBrassCo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:16 pm
mrdeacon wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:08 pm Hit up John Sandhagen in California. He cuts bells frequently and does fantastic work. He's even putting new valves on my Minick as we speak! A job I wouldn't give to just any random tech!
I'd be happy to provide samples of my work, well beyond fitting valves, as I'm not "just any random tech".

Oh sorry man. I didn't mean that one as a crack on you! I'm just a fan of John. I do think you do fantastic work! You did some work on a 62H recently that I thought looked great!

In hindsight I realize it looked like I was implying your work wasn't the best considering previous comments in the thread.

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:46 pm

mrdeacon wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:25 pm
LIBrassCo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:16 pm I'd be happy to provide samples of my work, well beyond fitting valves, as I'm not "just any random tech".
Oh sorry man. I didn't mean that one as a crack on you! I'm just a fan of John. I do think you do fantastic work! You did some work on a 62H recently that I thought looked great!

In hindsight I realize it looked like I was implying your work wasn't the best considering previous comments in the thread.

Hah no worries! Thanks, that Conn came out really nice, I'll get photos of that up soon!

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:16 am

Here are a few shots of my horn. There are no braces that would be in the way it seems. Would like to talk about the possibility of adding braces to make tuning simpler.

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:18 am

For some reason it will not let me post them.

Post by **Bonearzt** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:26 am

Personal attacks will not be tolerated!

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:44 am

Sent you an Email Jeff

LIBrassCo · Post by **LIBrassCo** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 10:54 am

EZSlider wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:44 am Sent you an Email Jeff

I'll take a look shortly and get back to you!

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:05 pm

Possibly still in the market for a tech.

MalecHeermans · Post by **MalecHeermans** » Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:51 pm

Josh Landress would be the best choice to get it done within shooting distance and a very high chance of satisfaction.

I've had LOTS of things done over the years by storied techs with varied success and I can vouch for the standard set at Josh's shop.

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:43 am

Thanks for the heads up, sent them an email a few days ago.. Waiting for a reply now.
Still open to other folks too. Seem I will be shipping my horn so distance is not such an issue. Would like to get this project done by someone who really knows there stuff, also soon.

Schlitz · Post by **Schlitz** » Wed May 01, 2019 2:58 am

hornbuilder · Post by **hornbuilder** » Wed May 01, 2019 7:57 am

I've lost count of the number of bells I've cut (including french horn and trombone). Honestly, I would be wary of cutting a Bach bell. In our experience, 1 piece bells do not benefit from having it done, and can become "stiff" in response. 2 piece bells are much more "accepting" of the change, with little to no disadvantage in playability. In fact we (M&W) do not offer screw bells on 1 piece flares for this reason.

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed May 01, 2019 1:30 pm

Does anyone watching this thread play a 50 with a cut bell?

Schlitz · Post by **Schlitz** » Wed May 01, 2019 1:50 pm

Burgerbob · Post by **Burgerbob** » Wed May 01, 2019 1:52 pm

Ndwood · Post by **Ndwood** » Thu May 02, 2019 11:56 am

Yep - Josh cut my 50A3’s bell a few years ago. If it was an exceptional bell I would have just let it be, but it’s pretty average and being able to fit it in a much more compact case was definitely worth having it done.

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Thu May 02, 2019 7:31 pm

Thanks guys.. Yeah I am not a pro and don't have any real plans to be. I play everyday and travel fairly often, and the ability to have my largest horn be a lot smaller when I want it to be is very desirable.
Aiden I assume that you are speaking of the horn in your most recent vid? Like I commented there I have reached out to John about my protect also, but no response yet.
Ndwood.. Thanks.. That for sure boost the chances of Josh doing mine also. Sent you a pm

Burgerbob · Post by **Burgerbob** » Thu May 02, 2019 7:37 pm

I've had two screwbelled 50s now. On my second in that video!

If you need, I can hit up John.

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Thu May 02, 2019 7:45 pm

If you don't mind that would be great, I am in a bit of a time crunch to pick a tech, as my horn is on its way to Seattle to BrassWinds to get some Warranty work done, and I would like to have it sent to my tech of choice from there to save on shipping.

Burgerbob · Post by **Burgerbob** » Thu May 02, 2019 7:47 pm

If it's going to Seattle, Benn Hansson is local and could do it for you!

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Thu May 02, 2019 8:02 pm

I had thought of him as well.. Who do you think would be the best fit? Also that would have a decent turn around?

Burgerbob · Post by **Burgerbob** » Thu May 02, 2019 8:07 pm

Benn would be able to do it there and has plenty of experience. Shouldn't take too long!

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Thu May 02, 2019 8:13 pm

I will shoot him an Email.. thanks for the help Aiden.. And all the great vids. Been watching them for some time. Kinda funny to be chatting with you.

Schlitz · Post by **Schlitz** » Thu May 02, 2019 9:14 pm

mrdeacon · Post by **mrdeacon** » Fri May 03, 2019 10:23 am

EZSlider wrote: ↑Thu May 02, 2019 7:31 pm Thanks guys.. Yeah I am not a pro and don't have any real plans to be. I play everyday and travel fairly often, and the ability to have my largest horn be a lot smaller when I want it to be is very desirable.
Aiden I assume that you are speaking of the horn in your most recent vid? Like I commented there I have reached out to John about my protect also, but no response yet.
Ndwood.. Thanks.. That for sure boost the chances of Josh doing mine also. Sent you a pm

John gets busy and he sometimes isn't the best at answering those initial emails, like most techs. He's very good about communicating once you establish that initial communication, again like most techs.

Send him another email in a few days if he still hasn't gotten back to you.

Backbone · Post by **Backbone** » Fri May 03, 2019 12:12 pm

There are other ways to contact John on his webpage contact us link

https://www.theboneyard-ca.org/index.html

mrdeacon · Post by **mrdeacon** » Fri May 03, 2019 11:52 pm

Backbone wrote: ↑Fri May 03, 2019 12:12 pm There are other ways to contact John on his webpage contact us link

https://www.theboneyard-ca.org/index.html

He's really good about phone calls as long as he's in his shop! Didn't think anout that. Duhhh

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Tue May 07, 2019 8:32 pm

Seems hopeful that Benn will be doing the work for me!

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Wed May 15, 2019 1:44 pm

Benn Hansson has my horn! Will post up some pics when I get it back

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Fri May 24, 2019 11:22 am

Here are a few shots Benn sent me. Should have my horn Wed or Thurs!

MahlerMusic · Post by **MahlerMusic** » Fri May 24, 2019 1:52 pm

Very nice. It looks like you will still have the Gb option.

Schlitz · Post by **Schlitz** » Fri May 24, 2019 3:23 pm

EZSlider · Post by **EZSlider** » Sun May 26, 2019 3:31 pm

MahlerMusic wrote: ↑Fri May 24, 2019 1:52 pm Very nice. It looks like you will still have the Gb option.

Yeah Benn worked up some slide extensions out of the scrap! I thought it would be nice to have the option of setting it back.