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I've tried searching the archives, but would value the opinion of colleagues about these instruments. Are they worth purchasing 2nd hand or is it better to wait for a metal version??

rules for buying sousaphone.

1. don't buy a fiberglass sousaphone.

2. don't buy a fiberglass sousaphone.

3. don't buy a metal sousaphone with a fiberglass bell.

4. don't buy a sousaphone with any fiberglass.


If the players are Beginning players... i.e. 15 and under junior high students, maybe do it in a bind but that is IT.

You're quite right my main instrument is (unsurprisingly) a Besson EEb or even my newly acquired BBb.

However I have been looking for a Sousa for the weekly school concerts that I do - bit more dramatic than the standard 3 + 1.

So as long as the instruments are basically OK I may consider this ebay spectacular

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

Have you ever played a fiberglass sousa? If not, you may want to try one before you start bidding... and make up your own mind. I don't think the make will matter all that much.

I _dislike_ King sousaphones because they're designed with a water key "ideally placed" to poke the player in the right ribs. Same water key snagged a new shirt I was wearing and ripped it from shoulder-to-shoulder.

Save your money (and your ribs). Buy a Conn when one turns up. They don't have the poorly-conceived water key setup.

If you absolutely MUST have a fiberglass sousaphone, for whatever (lack of) reason, at least you picked the one that will actually provide service. Make sure the King sousaphone is a pre-UMI model (before mid-80's).

AND DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EVEN THINK ABOUT GETTING ANOTHER BRAND OF FIBERGLASS SOUSAPHONE.

I have played the large Conn, the King (high school), a Buescher, an Olds, and others even worse, so this is from experience.

The regular King 1250 and the Conn 14k are really not that much heavier, and because they are brass, have so much better playability. A Reynolds Contempora will also be similar, because Reynolds worked for H N White in the early days. It's basically the same horn.

You might be better off getting a 3 valve Eb sousaphone. They are usually available very inexpensively on ebay (at least before shipping to the UK), weigh about the same as a fibreglass sousaphone, will sound better, and you are already comfortable playing Eb. I would suggest a 4 valve Eb sousaphone, but they are very hard to find, and will cost much more.

At the current exchange rate, £275 is about $489 over here. Most music stores in the US seem to offer used fiberglass sousaphones in good condition for around $1000 or so, sometimes a little less.

To elaborate further, the ergonomics may not be the best on the King, but with the smaller bore (.687 or 17.51mm) than the Conn (.734 or 18.64mm), you will get more overtones and projection initially, which will be truncated somewhat by the fiberglass once it gets out of the valve block, but still carry. With anything of a larger bore, there's nothing left for the fiberglass to do but woof at it. Low end is alright. I was in highschool in mid to late 70's, and we marched with the exact horns as in the eBay listing you quoted. We could get false pedal Eb's, D's and sometimes Db's. The higher range was limited only by your embouchure. We did not have the $$ for tubas, so these had to double as concert instruments. Our band director doubled the souzys up with a lot of contra woodwinds, and did just fine - over 25 years of I ratings at state contest in a row.

I agree that for the equivalence of US$500 - 750, it would probably be an alright deal, but if it gets to the equivalent of US$1000, you're getting into the territory of many brands and models of refurbished tubas that will sound much better and even be easier to transport.

I have a Conn 36K that I keep around for those rare occassions where I have to walk and play. The horn actually plays pretty good once I went through it and modified a couple of areas that tend to suck the energy out of it. Get rid of the o'rings that 'try' to seal the transition between the brass and plastic and make it a rigid connection. Then... make sure the bell collar and the mating part on the body are solid. A metal bell will help out a bit, too. I don't use the 'plastic pig' very often, but when I need it... I need it!

Used fiberglass sousaphones have got to be the cheapest US-made BBb instruments you can buy. They are also light to carry, especially in a real dent bag like the fitted canvas sack I have for my 36k. No padding whatsoever, but remember, fiberglass doesn't dent like brass. Very practical for taking on the subway.
If only someone made an Eb fiberglass helicon with a removable bell...

BTW all things considered what weighs less, 4 valves of Eb or 3 valves of BBb?

I think for that price you really can't go wrong.
We have two of them at our school here from the same vintage and they play OK. it obviously is not a great horn but certainly very usable. Like other kings, the pitch is good and very playable. make sure there are no leaks.
ken k

TubaTinker wrote:Get rid of the o'rings that 'try' to seal the transition between the brass and plastic and make it a rigid connection.

Hey Dan,

Can you elaborate on that? How do you make a rigid connection?

jacobg wrote:Used fiberglass sousaphones have got to be the cheapest US-made BBb instruments you can buy. They are also light to carry, especially in a real dent bag like the fitted canvas sack I have for my 36k. No padding whatsoever, but remember, fiberglass doesn't dent like brass. Very practical for taking on the subway.
If only someone made an Eb fiberglass helicon with a removable bell...

BTW all things considered what weighs less, 4 valves of Eb or 3 valves of BBb?

I agree. Over my years in marching band (high school, two major university bands, four Army bands, and one professional civilian marching band), when it came to playing a sousaphone, I really could tell no difference between most metal sousaphones and the King (pre-UMI) fiberglass. You can find some not too pretty, but playable white sousaphones on eBay for a more than decent price. Look carefully.