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$900 for a King 4V BBb valveset in unknown condition!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

I believe that is an Eb sousaphone, not a BBb. $900 seems a bit much without a bell, even though the body appears to be in good shape.

Eb sousaphones usually have a false tubing in the wrap, so that the opening can be larger. This particular model of King had 2 complete wraps on a very small body. I have seen Buescher and Reynolds Eb sousaphones (and helicons) made the same way.

Compare it to this picture of a 4 valve King sousaphone currently for sale at Dillon Music:



It is clearly the same model horn. The length of the 3rd valve tubing is one clear indication that this is an Eb. On a BBb it would be much longer, and usually doubled over at the top.

TubaTinker wrote:$900 for a King 4V BBb valveset in unknown condition

Hey- they clarified it; "also 2 of the keys spring up nicely and 2 stay down when pressed in. Also the description in the title says WHITE -it is not white though sorry"

I hate it when a sousaphone turns out to be gold colored! ...

windshieldbug wrote:

TubaTinker wrote:$900 for a King 4V BBb valveset in unknown condition

Hey- they clarified it; "also 2 of the keys spring up nicely and 2 stay down when pressed in. Also the description in the title says WHITE -it is not white though sorry"

I hate it when a sousaphone turns out to be gold colored! ...

Maybe they thought the "H.N." stood for "Hardly Noticeable"?

Lew wrote:I believe that is an Eb sousaphone, not a BBb.

Yeah... you're right. I owned one of these. I should have noticed it right off. The King Eb sousa doesn't have the dummy pipe across the shoulder but has a smaller body wrap. I sold it to a guy in Phoenix a couple of years ago. This one will probably end up as a CC sousa... or the valve set will become a Gnagy-0-Phone (Sam bid but didn't win the auction). Everything considered, $900 bucks is still a hefty price for a valveset in unknown condition.