In the wake of TubeNet 2.0, I’m hoping this thread can A. serve as a resource for King owners and B. hopefully fill in some of the gaps not detailed on the legacy H.N. White website and C. be a place for us to show off our horns.
To Kick things off, here’s what I’ve learned (and questions raised) from cross-referencing https://www.hnwhite.com/ & http://tubapastor.blogspot.com/2012/12/ ... -conn.html (+ Wikipedia):
- Between 1910-1925 H.N. White began manufacturing bell-up helicons/sousaphones, followed shortly by bell-forward sousaphones:
- The earliest Eb "raincatcher" shown on Hornucopia is #13323 c.1913-1915
- The earliest BBb "raincatcher" shown is #65424 c.1918-1925
- 1924: in their ‘24 catalog, H.N. White publishes their modern bell-front Sousaphone, Symphony model 1250 with a cute ‘lil 22” bell and their now-standard .687” bore. Only the bell diameter and engraving will evolve, everything else will pretty much remain unchanged until the late 60s or early 70s
- 1928: introduction of the 1268 Jumbo
- 1932: Cadet model 1247 BBb
- ????: accurate release history and complete production timeline of 3 and 4 valve bell-front Ebs, Jr-sized instruments, and Jumbo/Giant instruments, and the 4-valve model 1251.
- 30s-50s: 1250 sold with now standard 26” bell, Giant model BBb sousaphone with 28” bell and .750” bore size (appears to have been an effort to outgun the 20K?)
- 1963: release of fiberglass model 1280 (birth year of my horn)
- 1964: logo changed to modern crown logo used today
- 1966: King acquired by Seeburg Corp. (the Borg), instrument division renamed “King Musical Instruments”
- 19??: model 1250 discontinued / model 2350 introduced with a modified valve wrap and bracing that prohibits left-hand tuning of the 1st valve slide (why???). Also, the first generation of 2350s seemed to have used the original leadpipe/gooseneck geometry employed since the first 1250(?)
- 1979/1983: Seeburg files for bankruptcy/King is reacquired by Swedish holding company UMI
- 1985: King instrument #999999 is produced and serialization is reset; model 2350 inexplicably changes leadpipe/gooseneck geometry to the now-modern standard (shorter vertical orientation, longer horizontal orientation found on today’s 2350s and all Conn sousas except 20/40K)
- 2000/2003: King is divested from UMI and absorbed by C.G. Conn (now under Steinway) and redevelopment as a product brand name to sell last remaining King models: 2350, 2370 (fiberglass), and 2360 (brass bell hybrid model) [exact release dates and discontinuation of 2360/70 is unclear)
- ????: at some point post-UMI, I think Conn also (re)released a model “14K” with a King 2350 bugle, wrap, and bell geometry, resulting in dozens of confusing for sale ads over the years. I’m not sure when this started/ended, but what I do know is the current “Conn” 36K is really a King 2370 with the Conn logo stamped on the bell
- ????: model 2350’s valve section is updated to be removable (did this happen under Seeburg or Conn?)
- ????-Present: The only true remaining Conn designs are the 20/40K. All other Conn-Selmer sousaphone models (2350 and fiberglass sousas) are 100% King in name and/or design. However, it’s not clear if the fiberglass models are discontinued as they are currently not listed on the Conn-Selmer website
Optional reading (personal inspo/backstory):
Back in June of this year, I sold my super-custom Conn 36K with brass bell to buy a fancy new Wessex 4v Eb helicon. While I love the low register and broad tones of my Eastman compensating Eb, I learned an expensive lesson during my brief “quarantine fling” that no circle-shaped non-comp Eb horn will ever come close to replicating the low-register ease and band-carrying resonance of a contrabass sousaphone. This realization resulted in a repeated kicking myself for nearly 4 months until acquiring “Jackie O” in late August.
Before finding Jackie, I was still interested in the nimble smaller bore and reduced weight that I found to be a major upside of my summertime Eb sousa/helicon experimentation.
I was introduced to a friend of a friend who had a beat up 2350 [sic] sousaphone for sale on the cheap, and I was intrigued by the .687 bore size (exactly the same as my Eastman Eb), so I jumped on it (figuratively). Cosmetically, it looked like it had actually been jumped upon. But the real kick in the you-know-what was discovering the valves were completely shot (Hetman’s 97 couldn’t save these valves). However, the bones were good, as was the gorgeous satin silver finish, and the icing on the cake... it was revealed to actually be a coveted model 1250 (a true H.N. White King with top-action valve slides!!!). The rest is history.
The stars really aligned thanks to my trust in the expertise and guidance of J. Landress Brass here in NYC. So, a couple grand, a full overhaul, and a Dan Oberloh valve job later, I ended up with a (probably better than new) classic instrument for thousands less than a new Conn-Selmer 2350, and several hundreds less than any of the Chinese-made King copies from JP or Eastman (no negative connotation with Chinese instruments either – see my Eastman ravings in previous posts).
Needless to say, the investment was worth it. At a reasonable 24lbs, it’s a very nimble player with great intonation, projection, and a classic tone. I can nail a pedal Bb through Bb+ above the staff more securely than any other sousa I’ve played or owned. False tones are awesome too, and oh boy can this baby honk if you put some spit behind it! Nonetheless, I’m proud to be an H.N. White/King hipster!
This is a massive first post, but something I’d like to add as a follow-up is a record of my horn’s intonation tendencies as a way to document, learn, and compare to subsequent makes and models.