Large Sousaphone

Ace · Post by **Ace** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:20 pm

I was just scanning through an auction site and ran across this item.
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Conn-Jumbo-Sou ... dZViewItem

Anyone familiar with an instrument of this type? The seller dsecribes it as a "pre-20K". What would be the correct nomenclature for this Sousaphone? Weight is 42 lbs (!) Groan. I'd hate to march a parade with that horn.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:38 pm

The Jackson · Post by **The Jackson** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:44 pm

It sure is pretty, though. If it is indeed about 75 years old, it was maintained well. Also, I don't see many satin finished sousas today.

MartyNeilan · Post by **MartyNeilan** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:29 pm

Bob1062 wrote:I bet it'd weigh a LOT less if you ran it through tinyurl.com (from 144 characters to 25!)-
http://tinyurl.com/2bzgzo

Yeah, but some of us like to know what we are clicking on, especially if a boss or spouse is in the room. A complete url tells us it is from ebay, a tinyurl could point to Bob's paysite for all we know.

SplatterTone · Post by **SplatterTone** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:30 pm

Wow! Tulsa Band Instruments. I should drive over there and play the thing.

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 7:13 am

windshieldbug wrote:46K

Every bit of it, 42 lbs and all. Great horn.

eupher61 · Post by **eupher61** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 4:49 pm

the King monster I formerly owned was bigger than that, 4 valve.

closer to 60#. When I was 20 years younger and using it regularly, it was fine. But, once it was relegated to a couple times a year, it just wasn't worth it.

It was sold to Boise, now in Austin. I do miss it, but not enough to buy something similar.

Steve Marcus · Post by **Steve Marcus** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 12:34 am

I had the pleasure of playing a beautifully reconditioned 46K with my Dixieland group at a church service in Muskegon, MI a couple of years ago. The horn's owner, who sat in the back pews while I played his horn, reported that he had never heard his sousaphone from a distance; he could feel its vibrations even where he was sitting.

As for the fella who was wearing and playing the horn, he totally enjoyed himself and the sound that the Jumbo Conn sousaphone produced. The owner of the 46K even sent me a video of the performance!

macwinty · Post by **macwinty** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 5:44 pm

Any chance that video might find its way to YouTube??

Timswisstuba · Post by **Timswisstuba** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:30 pm

Anyone know what happened to this auction? It seems to have disappeared. Did the auction end early? Tulsa Band seems like a respectable business that wouldn't end an auction early..

eupher61 · Post by **eupher61** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:18 pm

The auction ended, but the high bidder's account had been hacked, and eBay withdrew the bids. Or something similar, I was in Tulsa Band today.

It's a BEAUTIFUL instrument. No leadpipe or bits. Very good condition, a few of the normal dents but nothing major. COuldn't play it, but the valves seemed good, reasonably tight with decent, not outstanding-to-the-point-of-perfection compression. The high bid before was $2800...reserve less than half of that.

It's back up on the site.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 10:29 am

eupher61 wrote:It's back up on the site.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 828&ih=019

46K · Post by **46K** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:07 pm

Hi,
For those of you wondering what happened with the 1924 Conn jumbo sousa: It's in Belgium now, and as far as I know it's the only one in all of Europe.
Compared to my 1935 20K it's HUGE. It plays easier and with more control than any sousaphone I have ever played before. Also the finish and workmanship is incredible. Thick plating (99,5% still there after 84 years!) and slides on all the small tubes (7 slides in total).
Ill try to post something on youtube in a few weeks when I'll have the time for it.

46K · Post by **46K** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:39 pm

I wouldn't desccribe the playing characteristics as goofy. It actally plays more evenly, and better in tune than my 20K. It's not painfull to hold, it fits nicely, and it's well balanced, BUT at the moment it's too heavy to hold comfortably for more than 45 minutes. With some practice that time can surely be stretched, but that would probably still be a risk for my spine in the long run...
I'll have to make some sort of harnass that supports it from the hips like a hiking backpack.
Does anyone know if such a thing exists already?