I have a monster young tuba student...who's barely 5'0 if not a touch under. It's marching season. He plays a good 3/4 BBb tuba so weight isn't a problem - but the branch spiral of a standard sousaphone, even a fiberglass one, is going to dang near be hitting him in the knees. Basically, my school has to do the equivalent of an ADA accommodation for him because of his height. SO...
Does anyone make an equivalent of the old Barcone 3/4 Bb tubas? I think those might actually be an octave higher but I haven't played one, only seen them. I know I could get an Eb sousaphone and then just transpose parts for him (so he could continue to use his normal BBb fingerings), but if there's a Bb out there already I'd rather not reinvent the wheel.
I know there are things coming from India that look like what I'm looking for...but I'm NOT looking for them
We had a tuba/soccer player who smashed his knee over the summer. Our only tuba! We planted him in the pit. I had a good trumpet player, good player, who never, ever could manage to march in step. I made him a soloist, and charted the show so he hardly had to move. Most judge didn't notice.
John Thompson
There’s one on reverb, looks like no neck or finger buttons, which might be hard to find. I have an Eb Barcone that barely fits me as an adult, but looking odd is a plus in the band I play with. Sound wise it’s better than you’d expect, but not wonderful. If you can find an old king Eb and your student can carry it, those horns can pretty much hang with their big brothers within their range.
David
King 1241, B&H Eb, Sterling Euph, King 1250
Lake Murray Symphony; Columbia Community Concert Band; Capitol Brass; Die Lustigen Muzikanten; Seed and Feed Marching Abominable
West Columbia, SC
That’s a tough find… Eb might be your best (or only) bet. I’ve never heard of a Barcone, but I do remember reading that Olds made a “junior” sousaphone in BBb, but those are extremely rare.
I might not even transpose the parts. Learning a new set of fingerings doesn’t take that long…
Maybe look for a true “full-circle” Eb sousaphone as they’re going to have to be physically smaller simply due to the shorter length. King and Reynolds come to mind.
The Conn ones have that fake branch that give the horn it’s sousaphone shape, and they seem to be a bit bigger.
Baltimore Brass has a few… I’d probably pick that King 1260 should budget not be a concern. ($2k) They have a Pan-Am for $500 but I’d question the condition of it for that price.
I will say, yes, 3/4 sousas do exist and my impression is they got marketed as Junior models. (i have heard of Holton, Martin, Olds and King at least, and i can't imagine Conn not making a variant, but my impression is they are in high demand, as perhaps less were made, and they got worse care for being with beginners who didn't necessarily know how to care for things. I konw one seller who offered me top dollar should i run across such in my wanderings. I have come across such small sousas, and they are fine sounding instruments.
BBb barcones are almost 2/4 tubas, and have full 'nother wrap to make it extra small. having something like 4" throats (been a while since i looked at one) and can put out a surprising amount of sound, although may still have trouble carrying a band by themselves. I have also come across a "Chris Kratt" version of those, which is perhaps the best built of the bunch. (or maybe since it hada case, just saw the least rough handling)
I am never sure whether the convenience of finding cheaper Ebs out there, or the convenience of the smaller size should drive the choice of one rather than purely musical considerations, but the full wraps are a bit smaller, although i think generally making them just as big, but with half a wrap is the more common make.
