Sousaphone holding

[MartyNeilan]

weird...

...Every sousaphone playin' picture I found on the web has the playuhz holding the goosenecks...(??)

My experience with high shool band camps has been that the goosenecks are all worn, so that even with the screw tight the mouthpiece will still swing away and drop into the mud. Holding it became a necessity. My low buck solution was always to wrap some paper around the end of the gooseneck where it plugs in, thereby tightening it up. The leverage factor of the mouthpiece was also increased by kids sometimes using 3 or 4 bits. I would make them get rid of the extra ones so they could actually hold the horn right and get it up to pitch, but they would usually put them back.

[AndyL]

I voted "other".

"At the gooseneck" and "at the mouthpiece" suggests to me that either the neck and bits are poorly (or won't stay) adjusted or too much pressure is being used on the mouthpiece.

If "won't stay" is the problem, a "real" repair or some tape (temporary repair) is indicated.......

[jacobg]

Is it possible to create a sousaphone that distributes the weight evenly on both the shoulders?
Maybe it could have a branch that goes over one shoulder, half way down the back, and then up over the other shoulder?
Or maybe a conventional sousaphone could be attached to a meinl-weston tuba harness?

[windshieldbug]

Is it possible to create a sousaphone that distributes the weight evenly on both the shoulders?

Was done by Henry Lenhert before the sousaphone (either style) was invented...