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Dear friends on TubeNet,

My son's high school band director has reached out to me to help him purchase two new brass sousaphones for the marching band. While I know a great deal about sousaphone history, I know much less about sousaphones available today.

I would love any help you could provide so that we can make a wise purchase that will serve the school well for years to come. The budget ceiling is $10,000, so . . .

Which brands and models should be in the running? (well-made, durable, good track-record for maintenance, excellent sound and decent intonation, etc).

Which should we avoid? (for the reasons just mentioned)

Where can we find the best deals on the best horns?

Thanks so much for your help!

Bloke's answer above is the best answer to your $10,000 question!

Yep. New jupies are more than that

I agree with Chad. My old high school recently bought four new 20K's with cases and they came in around $7000 each (I don't know where they ended up purchasing them from). Go with bloke!

Buy some of those awesome old souses always running around on here (shouldn't run more than $2000 for the pair), get em fixed up nicely ($4000 at a higher priced place), and take a nice vacation (around $4000)

Nothing pays for a vacation quite like misappropriation...?

I just hope the school doesn't require the purchase to be NEW equipment, that would be a shame, so much great old stuff out there!

I would pay Martin Wilk to convert my Martin Mammoth 6/4 detachable forward bell tuba into an Orenophone. It is a brontosaurus of tremendous bulk, and not a lap horn, nor even a manageable stand horn. Plus, the 3 side pistons are so far to reach around the smokestack, you need extra long arms to reach them. It needs to rest upon the earth. I hope 10 grand would be enough.

Sure thing? Bloke's offer.
Or check the For Sale section of Tubenet
Or...Check the auction site and take your chances on older instruments.

New instruments? The majority of online retailers are all owned by the same larger parent company and will post same the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Or suggested discount price. No variations.