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This fibreglass sousaphone displays two features, that I never saw before:

a brass plate at the support point of the body-to-bell knee

a brass rim around the bell perimeter.

I am not sure whether the last feature just is a matter of metallic paint.

As many older fibre sousas apparently have chipped bell rims, a brass covered rim seems to be a fine feature.

The knee cap also seems placed at an obvious spot. I don't have a fibre sousa, but older brass dittos display worn plating at that point.

Are these guards unique for Olds, or have other makers presented similar features?

I am not involved with this sousaphone, and my Border Terrier is not allowed to play my brasses.

Klaus