Plastic Body/Brass Bell/

[eupho]

We have all seen a few brass body tubas with plastic or carbonfiber bells. How about a plastic body with a brass bell? Any opinions?

[KingBassTrombone]

I've seen this setup on some fiberglass sousas. I think it improves projection and tone quality, at the expense of making the instrument substantially heavier and top-heavy.

[oscarcahue]

Yup!

Jupiter sells a hybrid Sousaphone.

https://www.wwbw.com/Jupiter-JSP1010-Qu ... 01000.wwbw" target="_blank

[Bill Troiano]

When Lee created my CC sousaphone, it was from a fiberglass Jupiter body with silver slides, tubing and a silver brass bell. It’s a nice sounding CC sousaphone. It weighed about 25 lbs., which was a pain for me on long gigs and I almost always play standing. So, I purchased a King fiberglass bell for it on Ebay. The fiberglass bell weighs around 4-5 lbs. less than the brass bell. That was a win for me. As far as sound, there’s not a lot of difference. The brass bell possibly resonates more and the upper overtones are slightly more present. For my sousaphone use, the sound isn’t as important as the weight. The fiberglass bell works fine. You’re still going to sound like you. If we ever do a recording in a studio setting, I might use the brass bell. Otherwise, fiberglass all the way !!

[iiipopes]

Having played conventionally almost all the domestic sousaphones made in the last 50 years, metal, fiberglass, resin, etc. I don't hear any appreciable difference in tone or projection. I prefer to save the weight.

[eupho]

Thanks for weighing in guys.