An odd little sousaphone

Lew · Post by **Lew** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:38 pm

This is a strange looking sousaphone. They say it's an Eb and based on the size I thought that it was, but when looking at the length of the tubing it looks like it might be a small Bb. It looks odd to me with a 24" bell on such a small body. Which do you think it is?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Oxford-Eb-3-4-Size- ... dZViewItem

Joe Baker · Post by **Joe Baker** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 4:05 pm

If their measurements are even close, it's got to be an Eb or F.

The body loop is 18.25 inches diameter, and almost exactly 1.5 loops. Calculating to the center of the tubing, and assuming an average tubing diameter of about 1.5 inches, that's 94 inches. Add in another 50 inches or so for the bell and bellstack (and 'bell effect'), cluster, tuning slide and neck, and you get 144 inches. I'm sure I'm off a bit in my estimates, but there's no way it's any 18 ft (216 in.), nor do I believe it could be in Bb in the eubariphoneum octave (108 in.).

I did my length estimates before looking up the lengths of the various tubas, BTW (although I did remember that a baritone is 8 ft and a BBb tuba is 16 ft). So having estimated this critter at somewhere in the 145 inch range, I calculate that an F tuba is about 145 inches, and an Eb is about 160. So my GUESS is that this is either an F or an Eb.
____________________________
Joe Baker, who really DID have better things to do, but just didn't do them.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 4:57 pm

It does have a double loop in the third valve slide, although the over-all length isn't very long at all. For added effect, the first valve slide is shown pulled out 1". (It is really a hoot that they show the third valve slides put in incorretly, so the third valve is about as long as the proper length for the first!) There isn't much tubing before the first valve, so given that bore, and length of valve slides, I've got to concur, F, or Eb.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:07 pm

My vote's for G-flat.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:24 pm

Buy it and let us know how it plays. If all else fails, make a mailbox out of it

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:30 am

TubaTinker wrote:If all else fails, make a mailbox out of it

... I think I may still have an M80 around here somewhere...

Lew · Post by **Lew** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:37 am

windshieldbug wrote:
TubaTinker wrote:If all else fails, make a mailbox out of it
... I think I may still have an M80 around here somewhere...

Hmmm, have you seen "The Butterfly Effect?"

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An odd little sousaphone

What key is it in?

An odd little sousaphone