Strangest thing you’ve ever found in your sousaphone?

[sousaphonestephanie]

I found a moldy pizza crust in mine tonight.

[sousaphonestephanie]

Dead rat. Okay, I was a repair tech at a music store and I was doing a chem clean. It was just as gross you you might imagine.

I hope nobody had played that horn recently. I’d imagine inhaling dead rat fumes would not be healthy.

[roweenie]

Cigar-shaped desiccated mouse/rat in the MTS of a Buescher E flat helicon.

[tubapix]

2-$1 bills

[Three Valves]

2-$1 bills

What a night THAT must have been!!

[sousaphonestephanie]

2-$1 bills

Well, that sounds like a successful night!

I once went out busking, made a sign that said TIPS with arrows pointing down for my bell, and created a net between the body and bell with the foot of a nylon stocking.

I thought that people would LOVE to throw stuff in my horn; I was wrong. They mostly seemed very confused.

[hockeyched]

beads

[Mark Moore]

40 years ago, visiting high schools, one sousaphone, a whole marching band flip folder and a tennis shoe, in another sousaphone, one complete method book, the band director had taken it to a repair shop, they ran water through it but couldn't find anything, so he called me and I bounced the bottom bow loose on the carpeting in the band room and got the book out, horn played much more open after that

[adsteve]

My cat.....oddly enough if I am holding the tuba she is terrified of it. But I had left the case open and she hopped in the bell. When I closed the bell case I heard a faint meow coming from within. Oddly enough, the cat was named Belle.

[Steve Marcus]

When Lee Stofer was expertly restoring my 1930 Conn 48K Jumbo sousaphone a day after I purchased it in 2010, he pulled from it a newsletter from a Chicago high school dated April 1, 1951 along with some Wrigley’s gum wrappers from that period. What an April Fool’s presentation—- nearly 60 years after its publication!

P.S. Stephanie, I love your posts!

[Sousaswag]

A couple water bottles, some full some empty, a roll of caution tape, and a bow from a Christmas present! (Inside multiple Conn 36k's)

[Worth]

Styrofoam peanuts from when it was shipped to me

[Three Valves]

This one time, back in band camp, in the 70s, I found notes that were in tune with the rest of the ensemble!!

[M.Medlock]

Moldy foam nerf football. Maybe it was orange once?

[sousaphonestephanie]

This one time, back in band camp, in the 70s, I found notes that were in tune with the rest of the ensemble!!

When Lee Stofer was expertly restoring my 1930 Conn 48K Jumbo sousaphone a day after I purchased it in 2010, he pulled from it a newsletter from a Chicago high school dated April 1, 1951 along with some Wrigley’s gum wrappers from that period. What an April Fool’s presentation—- nearly 60 years after its publication!

P.S. Stephanie, I love your posts!

Steve, that's really cool! I bet the newsletter was fun to read.

My cat.....oddly enough if I am holding the tuba she is terrified of it. But I had left the case open and she hopped in the bell. When I closed the bell case I heard a faint meow coming from within. Oddly enough, the cat was named Belle.

cats and sousaphones, amirite? https://www.instagram.com/p/BMnUsjigi-m ... offshegoes" target="_blank" target="_blank

[Bill Troiano]

One day in 1968, as we entered the HS band room for practice, it smelled like crap (literally) in the room. The band director was looking around for the source. However, in the instrument storage room, when my sousaphone buddy started to lift up his fiberglass sousaphone (36K, I think), urine dripped out of the lead pipe and it smelled really bad in the storage room. Then, he picked up the horn and there it was - a load of crap in the bell. We never found out who did it and I don't know if the crapper intended it for my sousaphone, my buddy's or if it was just random. Band was cancelled for 2-3 days and both sousaphones were sent out for service. That's when, because we were forced to, we had to play the brass sousaphones and I discovered that they sounded so much better. I don't recall what kind they were, possibly Kings. I never went back to the fiberglass sousaphone again after they came back from service. My buddy refused to play the fiberglass ones too because we didn't know which one was his and so we didn't know which one got crapped into. So, he played the brass sousy too. The following year we were both seniors and we graciously let the 2 freshmen play the fiberglass sousaphones.

[sousaphonestephanie]

One day in 1968, as we entered the HS band room for practice, it smelled like crap (literally) in the room. The band director was looking around for the source. However, in the instrument storage room, when my sousaphone buddy started to lift up his fiberglass sousaphone (36K, I think), urine dripped out of the lead pipe and it smelled really bad in the storage room. Then, he picked up the horn and there it was - a load of crap in the bell. We never found out who did it and I don't know if the crapper intended it for my sousaphone, my buddy's or if it was just random. Band was cancelled for 2-3 days and both sousaphones were sent out for service. That's when, because we were forced to, we had to play the brass sousaphones and I discovered that they sounded so much better. I don't recall what kind they were, possibly Kings. I never went back to the fiberglass sousaphone again after they came back from service. My buddy refused to play the fiberglass ones too because we didn't know which one was his and so we didn't know which one got crapped into. So, he played the brass sousy too. The following year we were both seniors and we graciously let the 2 freshmen play the fiberglass sousaphones.

Welp. That sure takes the (****)cake.

[Donn]

That sure takes the (****)cake.

Urinal cake? I doubt it would have made much difference, but it would have been a nice touch.

[tubasoldier]

I worked in a music repair shop in high school. I helped to chemical cleanings and minor dent removal.

One sousaphone came in over the summer with a condom stuck in the valves. It took a lot of work to get the darn thing out. I'm not sure what the kid was doing with a condom inside his tuba!

Personally I usually ended up with a few pennies or wadded up paper. I did get a nickel once so that was exciting!

[toobagrowl]

Some of you have some nasty stories, ewww
Besides a few pencils, gum wrappers and soda bottles, the strangest thing I found in my sousaphone back in h.s. was a mini umbrella. Our colorgaurd one year used mini umbrellas as part of their routine, so I knew it belonged to the colorgaurd. I emmidiately knew something was wrong with the sousa after playing a few notes because it responded and sounded very stuffy. So I looked down the bell and pulled out that mini umbrella and threw it across the bandroom because it pissed me off. I think they got the hint not to mess with our sousas after that