I've had this York Master (B&M) .750" bore 4-valve body for a while now and don't have anything particular in mind for it.
of course, German-made .750" bore 4-valve sets are somewhat sought-after by the frankentuba community.
Some may recall from previous posts that I have a 6/4 York BBb with three valves, with the pistons in somewhat worn condition (B-/C+ grade). That is a possibility, but it would take rerouting the 4th circuit completely based on the way it loops around the back of the cluster.
Here is an example image from Dillon's. Imagine this but with no bell:
I would try to find a one-piece bell for a Marzan. The interchangeable bell was, in my opinion, constrained by the bell ring to too small a diameter. The Marzan bell has a wider throat.
You might also check with Lee Stofer. He was working with Kanstul some years ago to make replacement upright bells for the YM. There’s a slight chance he still has one lying around.
The (Nirschl-made) B&M valves are indeed exceptional, and the 19mm tubing needed to reroute the fourth valve is easy to find. The open-wrap fourth valve is worth preserving, though, so you’d only want to change the connecting tubing. One issue is the angled arrangement, which doesn’t work for everyone. That was a minor annoyance for me. Beyond that, it would work great on a project to convert an upright 6/4 Bb carcass into a front-action tuba.
Rick “had to extend the 4th valve button, despite not being an outlier in terms of body size” Denney
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dp wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2026 9:47 am
Can't route the 4th circuit outside where the third is now?
Sure can…
That routing really favors playability, although I get the aversion to the work, here's my 99 year old 692 with the stock "can't-reach-on-the-fly" 4th circuit routing
dp wrote: Tue Apr 28, 2026 8:03 am
That routing really favors playability, although I get the aversion to the work, here's my 99 year old 692 with the stock "can't-reach-on-the-fly" 4th circuit routing
I see an old bell scar -- was that originally a bell from a top action horn?
Though Klaus's York Master put the fourth slide next to the bell stack as did York, mine routed it to the backside of the instrument with a big wide-open loop. That feature is also present on my Hirsbrunner 193, and isn't worlds different from the back-side fourth-loop adjacent to a back-side third-branch slide as on B&S and Alexander tubas. That big loop is not only accessible, but minimizes the restriction of that long cylindrical branch. Fourth-valve notes on my York Master were without question one of its strong points--low F in particular was awesome.
Rick "a feature particularly praised by Chris Hall, who once owned it" Denney
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