Who made sousaphones for Getzen-Elkhorn 30 years ago?

[imperialbari]

http://tinyurl.com/6f5lmf

holds photos of a small bore BBb sousaphone engraved Getzen - Elkhorn.

Getzen of that era had their tubas made by Meinl-Weston. These were mainly, if not exclusively, rotary instruments, and I remember no sousaphones from being a frequent reader of the Getzen Gazette back then.

Another Getzen mystery, was when I during a conductor's training camp in Norway in 1976 saw a Getzen tenor trombone with an F-valve. That model was not in their catalogue, and the Danish importer of Getzen denied the very existence of such model.

Did Getzen make experimental series to test the US school market? They obviously weren't tooled for making very large brass parts, so who were their American co-operators?

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

[imperialbari]

That vague memory (refreshed by your linked pictures of the nickel-silver outside slide tubes) leads me to guess that B&M was the manufacturer.

This makes good sense. Böhm & Meinl had made valve blocks with the then almost uniquely American airpath in their York Master series. Whereas the York Master BBb tubas, that you and I have, are full size 19mm (0.750") in their bore. B&M also made small bore York Master tubas and sousaphones. Engraving it with a Getzen alias would pose no problem.

Some day I may have some comparative looks at these real and supposed B&M outputs.

Klaus

[J.c. Sherman]

They did have a compact F-wrap trigger bone in the c. 1980 cataloge I have... Looked like the Olds Ambassador F wrap bone.

J.c.S.

[oscarcahue]

There's currently a Getzen Junior Sousaphone on Ebay for sale.
It's tempting as I know 3/4 sousaphones are niche and are sought after for some.
But it mentions valve problems & with little known of this instrument. Risky.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GETZEN-JUNIOR- ... vEzhg8ZfhA" target="_blank

[WC8KCY]

My high school had a pair of these Elkhorn sousaphones. They were absolutely abominable.

I've wondered if they sourced these from Orsi, as they did with many of the woodwinds sold under the Getzen label in their early years.