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Hey everyone. I'm in the process of acquiring an old Pan American Sousaphone, and I'll need to be getting a neck and bits for it. Does anyone have any ideas for that? I'm guessing that some sort of old or maybe even current Conn parts might work?

Most of the old Conn sousa necks will work. If you buy new be sure your tech knows to get you one for a current 20K sousaphone.

TubaTinker wrote:Most of the old Conn sousa necks will work. If you buy new be sure your tech knows to get you one for a current 20K sousaphone.

Ok, thanks for the info! I'm gonna see if I can find one around here somewhere, and if not I'll probably try to get one here on the forum.

While I have the thread open, do any of you experts on older tubas know what to think of this?

It's listed as a Pan American Elkhart, and that matches up with bell engraving. However, all of the Pan American Eb sousas I've seen have a different kind of bracing on the main tuning slide. This one, however, looks exactly like a Conn 26k (shown below).

Anyone know why this might be? Maybe the bell and body aren't matches? Or Conn changed the Pan American design at some point?
Thanks in advance!

Pan American was made by Conn in the Elkhart factory. Your sousa is an Eb.

Ah, ok. So it's essentially a 26K stencil?

Pan American was Conn's student line for years. It is not a stencil, which would be a tuba made by one company who then engraves another company's label on the bell. This is a genuine CG Conn Eb sousaphone, but it is from the Pan American line of less expensive horns.