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What make is this sousaphone?
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:57 pm
by miz-zoutuba
Hey,
I have two of these sousaphones at my school. They are probably from the 1960's. They have a similar wrap to a Conn 14K or whatever the fiberglass version is. My problem with them is that they had a weird sized receiver on them, that we did not have a neck to fit. It was in between the size of a Conn and a King. So, I used an expander, and soldered some old Conn receivers to both of them. It takes a standard Conn neck and bit set, and the one that is back together plays great.
What do you think the make is on these? This one has the serial 412959.
Olds? Cleveland?
Thanks TNFJ!
Re: What make is this sousaphone?
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:15 am
by Dan Schultz
Selmer-Bundy
Re: What make is this sousaphone?
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:14 am
by miz-zoutuba
What gave it away? Just the bracing/valve caps?
Re: What make is this sousaphone?
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:26 am
by imperialbari
That 195x Busecher Sousaphone sounds like something rare. Any photos?
Klaus
Re: What make is this sousaphone?
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:53 am
by Dan Schultz
miz-zoutuba wrote:What gave it away? Just the bracing/valve caps?
The valve caps. Allied doesn't have a specific listing for necks and bits for the Bundy sousas but they do have one in their current catalog that doesn't have a description that I think is a match. It's part number S150 for the neck and S151 for the bits. The diameter of the neck tenon is .668".
You probably did the prudent thing by just fitting a Conn neck and receiver to the horn. Now... assuming those were old necks that you adapted to the sousas... don't go to a Conn-Selmer dealer and ask for a Conn neck in the future without specifically saying 'for a 20K'... or you will get a King neck. Gotta love those folks at Conn/Selmer/Steinway!
Re: What make is this sousaphone?
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 10:02 am
by miz-zoutuba
Well, I just realized I spelled Buescher wrong in my signature...got that corrected.
Checked the serial number...it's 185764...It's a Selmer copy of a Conn 14K. The bell says Buescher, made in Elkhart, Indiana. And it has the elk head inside the heart shape.
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Re: What make is this sousaphone?
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 10:06 am
by miz-zoutuba
Bloke,
I know what type of neck you are talking about. We have one or two of those the necks with a few bits also.
Here is the problem: One of the receivers was split from somebody forcing a Conn Neck in it anyway...and two...those necks were still a bit too small for the receivers! Maybe some work on both the neck and the receiver would have made them fit..but this was faster/cheaper/easier for me to do.
Also, the necks/bits we have in the drawer, are a crazy brown color that I have never seen before, didn't match the worn color of the sousaphone at all...A lot can happen in 50 years...