TubeNet

Is there any particular model of sousaphone that responds easily and evenly down to E? I've been working on some bass lines that require a lot of very fast low notes, and while I can play them fine on my 4/4 .735 bore tuba, I can't play them as well on either of the sousaphones I would much rather use. My sousaphones are a very old King with a conn wrap and a Conn 44k jumbo, but the king is a little too stuffy on low notes and the conn is very stuffy and weak from E down compared to F and above.

From the archives it looks like the Conn 14k is highly recommended, but so is my King and the Conn Jumbo. So I guess the question is: If you had to play Ride of the Valkyries on a sousaphone and you would be fired if the low E was not clear and distinct, which horn would you use?

-Eric

Shockwave wrote:If you had to play Ride of the Valkyries on a sousaphone and you would be fired if the low E was not clear and distinct, which horn would you use?

The horn that I can best play it on. I bet you could work up your stuff on whatever horn you happen to have.

Nick

Try a 38K: standard valve block so it speaks well with good response, larger throat like the 20K so the low end has authority. Try using a PT82 with it, as it is made for tubas with large bell throats. With that combination, I could play very clear and fast. It just finally got to the point my shoulder couldn't handle all 35+ pounds of it.

When it comes to sheer playability throughout the range, a good 14K is awfully hard to beat. The low range on some of those really big sousaphones becomes so cavernous that the clarity and punch needed to project the tone just get lost in the general woofiness.

Your description of your tuba--4/4 .735 bore--matches a 14K.

But low E is always an issue on a 3-valve sousaphone. You'll need a way to pull a slide to get the 1-2-3 combination in tune.

Rick "who finds the low F and E easier to nail on his 14K--and on his other 4/4 tubas--than on his 6/4 Holton" Denney

Rick Denney wrote: But low E is always an issue on a 3-valve sousaphone. You'll need a way to pull a slide to get the 1-2-3 combination in tune.

or get yourself a sousaphone with a 4th valve.

Mike Finn wrote:

Rick Denney wrote: But low E is always an issue on a 3-valve sousaphone. You'll need a way to pull a slide to get the 1-2-3 combination in tune.

or get yourself a sousaphone with a 4th valve.

Oh goodie - a 50 lb Sousaphone.

Just make sure that 4V Sousaphone doesn't have any sloppy lead solder stains.

sloan wrote:

Mike Finn wrote:

Rick Denney wrote: But low E is always an issue on a 3-valve sousaphone. You'll need a way to pull a slide to get the 1-2-3 combination in tune.

or get yourself a sousaphone with a 4th valve.

Oh goodie - a 50 lb Sousaphone.

Just make sure that 4V Sousaphone doesn't have any sloppy lead solder stains.

you caught me! although the horn in question actually weighs less than a Conn 38k (as pictured below) and I can play "Rappers' Delight" and anything else with a whole lotta low E's in it a lot easier with 4+2 than I can with 1+2+3, fwiw.

Speaking of 1+2+3: have the upper loop of the #1 circuit on a Conn modified into a usable movable slide. Then you can set 3 long for 2+3 Gb & Db to be in tune, and pull 1 for problem notes, like a "regular" tuba.