Conn 26K questions

[Chuck14]

Hello all,

After quite a few years away from playing, I have acquired what I believe is a 1927 Conn 26K Eb sousaphone. I would like to try and get (and myself) into playing shape. However it did not come with any bits. I discovered that a couple of mouthpieces I had laying around from my BBb days (a Bach 32E and a Perantucci S1) will fit directly into the neck, but it sounds like crap when I try to play it that way.

So, are bits specific to the manufacturer and/or model of horn, or fairly generic? What sort of mouthpiece would be appropriate for an old Conn 26K? Obviously the shank has to fit into whatever bits I can come up with, but don't Eb horns generally need a smaller mouthpiece than a BBb? I've never owned an Eb before if you can't tell.

Lastly, what do folks recommend for trying to clean and polish the an old horn like this? The silver finish doesn't appear to be worn off too badly, but has a lot of blackish tarnish built up on it. Seems similar to what you would get on actual silver silverware if you don't clean/polish it regularly, so I'm wondering if something like Tarn-X would be OK?

Thanks,
Chuck

[Dan Schultz]

If you order bits new from a music store... specify bits for a 20K sousaphone. If you don't specify and simply say 'Conn'.... you will get King bits and they will not work.

Sounds confusing but trust me.

The mouthpiece that came with that horn is probably a Conn 2.... same as was provided with the BBb sousas. A Bach 18 mouthpiece will get you started.

[Chuck14]

When you say the King bits won't work, do you mean they physically won't fit properly, or they will fit but will cause the horn to be out of tune?

[Chuck14]

Any suggestions on what to use for cleaning and polishing the horn?