eBay: Conn 48k

[Donn]

My 3 valve is heavy

What does it weigh?

[Dan Schultz]

My 3 valve is heavy

What does it weigh?

My 48K weighs about 52 pounds with a 28" bell.

[Donn]

OK, I'm out. 40K is not only one of the best sousaphones ever, it's close to 20 lbs lighter.

[Tom Eshelman]

Ian Church says 'the 46K has three valves and weighs 42 pounds; the 48K has four valves and weighs 54 pounds.', at http://brassmusician.com/sousaphone-his ... e-ologist/

[Donn]

There's actually a rather wide variation in reported weights for the 40K, too. Mine is at the lower end - I forget, 32 lbs, 35, something like that. (About the same as my accordion.) No idea why the range, but maybe the way they made them back in the day, there could be significant variation in metal thickness. Combination of thick metal in a 48K could certainly produce a very heavy tuba, and maybe those were the ones that were quickly retired and survive to today.

[lowpitchmoravian]

Lot of money to pay for bad back problems--(*&^%$#$%^&*()_+

Ever had one?

Nope , but do have "judgement" , a"bad back-", and 73 yrs on my odometer. Would view the situation differently if I were 20 yrs old.------lol,lol_

[Steve Marcus]

No idea why the range, but maybe the way they made them back in the day, there could be significant variation in metal thickness. Combination of thick metal in a 48K could certainly produce a very heavy tuba, and maybe those were the ones that were quickly retired and survive to today.

The variation in weight can also be due to slight variations in the branchwork itself. A few years ago, 4 Jumbo sousaphones appeared at the same concert in Pentwater, MI: 2 48Ks and 2 46Ks. There were very noticeable differences from horn to horn. For example, my 48K has 9 moveable slides while TubaTinker's 48K has 7 or 8. Apparently, though, both Dan's and mine weigh 52 pounds. FWIW, I weighed mine on my chiropractor's scale (I was being truthful with him about what I was risking by carrying the beast on my shoulder). The difference between the reading of his scale with me holding the Jumbo minus me not holding the Jumbo = the weight of the horn.

[Dan Schultz]

... The variation in weight can also be due to slight variations in the branchwork itself. A few years ago, 4 Jumbo sousaphones appeared at the same concert in Pentwater, MI: 2 48Ks and 2 46Ks. There were very noticeable differences from horn to horn. For example, my 48K has 9 moveable slides while TubaTinker's 48K has 7 or 8. Apparently, though, both Dan's and mine weigh 52 pounds. FWIW, I weighed mine on my chiropractor's scale (I was being truthful with him about what I was risking by carrying the beast on my shoulder). The difference between the reading of his scale with me holding the Jumbo minus me not holding the Jumbo = the weight of the horn.

My 48K has eight movable slides. The 52 pounds could vary a bit because what I'm using is the 'cheapo' bathroom scales I use to weight freight shipments.

[Tom Eshelman]

Congrats on the great article, Kiltie. I did not put together that our resident bearded tubenet sousaphone guru was the author. One of the most interesting statements to me was "These early sousaphones [in Sousa's band] were by no means made for marching; just imagine carrying an instrument of more than 40 pounds for a mile or more:".

So apparently this could be said of all jumbo 40+-pound sousaphones?

[lowpitchmoravian]

Lot of money to pay for bad back problems--(*&^%$#$%^&*()_+

I've read in the archives someone say they werent meant to be parade instruments. My 3 valve is heavy so i can only imagine the weight of a 4th valve and slightly bigger bell.
You need a lot of core strength to march with one. 2 weeks ago i tried and the next day i had a weird thigh strain and my ankles were sore.
The weight is mostly at the top of the horn so sore shoulders are a norm.
You need strong biceps to keep the horn level and not tipping over.
Strong legs help.
Nobody seems to notice its much bigger and you are in a lot more discomfort.

Love mine though!

I read that Sousa 's band seldom marched with theirs .

[bisontuba]

So, somebody bought it in a 'best offer accepted.' Anyone on this forum?