Contrabass bugle, G, F
Maker
Getzen Company
Date1968-1971 ca.
Place MadeElkhorn, Wisconsin, United States, North America
ModelT 219F; rotary valve slide model TR-29
Serial No.F 22366
SignedStamped on bell: GETZEN / ELKHORN WIS. / U.S.A.MarkingsStamped on piston-valve casing: F 22366
DescriptionChrome-plated brass, mother-of-pearl touchpieces, five loops, detachable bell, detachable S-shaped leadpipe, tuning slide with Titleist rotary valve at second bow, main tuning slide at fourth bow, rotary valve with horseshoe stop and coil-spring return lowers pitch by a semitone with a lever, operated by the left-hand index finer, Périnet valve lowers pitch by a whole tone, bottom-sprung, alignment by one key on chrome piston, single water keys at first and fifth bows.
Silver mouthpiece stamped: GETZEN CO. ELKHORN. WIS.
Getzen introduced a line of piston bugles for Drum and Bugle Corps in 1949; however, the Canadian Whaley Royce Company of Toronto first produced the contrabass bugle in G in 1959. This 22-foot instrument, an octave below the baritone bugle, provided a bass for the Drum and Bugle Corps, comparable with the sousaphone of a marching band. The use of bell-front instruments is one defining factor of Drum and Bugle Corps. Consequently, the contrabass bugle is also manufactured in bell front configuration. Because of its size and weight, it is not held in front of the player, but rests on his or her shoulder. The S-shaped leadpipe and movable bell can be turned to fit each player’s body.
This instrument is equipped with a TITLEIST rotary valve slide for F-sharp, which is listed in a retail price list from September 1, 1967, under the model number TR-29. In price list of February 1, 1970, this contrabass bugle is offered as model T219F for $525.00, the rotary valve as R-57, costing $52.00 extra. The tuning slide with lever-operated rotary valve was a heritage of the so-called “slip-slide technique,” a playing technique, in which the main tuning slide was manipulated like a trombone slide to overcome intonation problems and the restriction to the notes to the harmonic series. This technique was difficult to master and therefore mechanized.
DimensionsHeight: ca. 800 mm
Tube length: 6593 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, rotary-valve tuning slide, main tuning slide, valve slides): 13.7 mm, 11.1 mm, 14.1 mm, 14.1 mm, 14.1 mm (0.456 inches)
Bell diameter: 352 mm (13 5/8 inches)
ProvenancePurchased from Express Music, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1989.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number06967
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