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Hey Folks

Can anyone recommend a Harness that works with Sousaphone?

I've tried this one-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comfortable-Ca ... B01N6VTU02
But it's too long and *super* fiddly to get in and out of.

Has anyone used the Neotech one with Sousaphone?
https://neotechstraps.com/tuba-harness.html
Maybe the junior one would be short enough?

I like the look of the Croxbelt but damn, it's pricey!
http://aufbauhaus.wixsite.com/croxbelt

Or if anyone knows what the one in this thread is?
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76660&hilit=sousaphone+harness
Or if anyone has contact details for the chap in the picture?!

I'm about 6 foot (183 cm) tall and Sousy is a 20K copy if that makes a difference.

Any advice and opinions welcome.

Not to be overly stupid, but why does a sousaphone need a harness? It sits on your shoulder and is pretty balanced there, especially if you have one of those strap-on pads.

scottw wrote:Not to be overly stupid, but why does a sousaphone need a harness? It sits on your shoulder and is pretty balanced there, especially if you have one of those strap-on pads.

Except that a sousaphone sits on one shoulder, not both, so it's inherently off-balance.

Ernieball, I had never considered a harness before (sousaphones are awkward enough), but I see what you're getting at. Apart from the length and fiddly-ness of the first one you linked to, how well does it do the job of carrying the sousaphone? Do you still have control over where the horn faces?

I might have posted about this before, but when I got my sousaphone, even though the body was fiberglass or some sort of heavy plastic, with the brass bell, it weighed in at almost 22 lbs. That's not heavy by sousaphone standards, but I'm not getting any younger and my lower back gives me issues at times. I loved the sousaphone and I was determined to find a way to use it. I came up with a heavy duty camera monopod where I attached the tuba rest top part of a BBC tuba rest. I had to hit Home Depot to get the fittings to screw the tuba rest to the monopod, but it was easy. The rest sits under the sousaphone where my shoulder would go and functions sort of as a car jack would. There is no weight on my body, just a little balancing. Of course, it won't work if you want to stroll around. But it's easy to lift the sousaphone off the rest while playing to take a stroll to step out front or wuddeva.

scottw wrote:Not to be overly stupid, but why does a sousaphone need a harness? It sits on your shoulder and is pretty balanced there, especially if you have one of those strap-on pads.

Because for carrying heavy weights, two shoulders are better than one!

Leland wrote:Apart from the length and fiddly-ness of the first one you linked to, how well does it do the job of carrying the sousaphone?

I couldn't get it short enough to be any actual use - it just went limp and didn't take any of the weight.

I'll probably shell out for the Croxbelt, as I'm not really handy enough to knock something up myself