jupiter sousaphone?

[TCtubaKingConn00]

my director bought a new one (idk why) and had our first chair play it for marching season it is really shinier than the rest of ours

i tried it but it doesn't sound as good as our CONN 20Ks
me and some other people were thinking we should give it to one of our strong marching, but weak playing people

what do y'all think?

[iiipopes]

The regional state university bought a truckload of them and retired their venerable Kings. The metal was so thin they were denting just taking them out of the packing. Only one guy could get a tone out of them that wasn't buzzing and blatting. He was a tuba performance major, using a Schilke HII.

Whoever gets stuck with it, you should all chip in and get him a Schilke HII, as that is the only MP that can get anything out of it that you can stay in the same stadium with. The mouthpiece that comes with it is worse than a paperweight.

[SousaSaver]

Pish posh -

Jupiter Sousaphones are fine. They may not hold up as well as an old King, but anyone should be able to play one well.

I honestly believe that Jupiter gets smeared because people know they are made over seas and that puts an instant bias on their opinion.

They play fine...

[Jeffrey Hicks]

My former high school recently bought one of the Fiberglass with a brass bell. It plays really good. If I was a band director this is all I would buy.

[SousaSaver]

Pish posh -
Jupiter Sousaphones ... play fine...
[video]

At that dynamic, yes. Also he's a professional player, we kind of expect him to sound good on anything. A high schooler - not so much, especially playing anything above forte...

Professional player or not, they DO play well. I have played a few Jupiter Sousas before and you can play above a forte with out over blowing. Not all horns respond the same way, and this is true of Jupiter horns as well. It is true that they do not play like 20K or King 2350, but that doesn't make them bad horns.

[iiipopes]

I played these horns, with a variety of mouthpieces. They were all crap. Now, maybe in these intervening 3 years or so Jupiter has improved the quality; we can only hope. But the ones (plural -- I got to go down the racks where they were hung with my choice of mouthpieces) were all unmitigated crap.

[SousaSaver]

I played these horns, with a variety of mouthpieces. They were all crap. Now, maybe in these intervening 3 years or so Jupiter has improved the quality; we can only hope. But the ones (plural -- I got to go down the racks where they were hung with my choice of mouthpieces) were all unmitigated crap.

That's nice. No useful information, just "crap." What didn't you like about the way they played? Did they over blow too easily? Was pitch not to your liking? Please elaborate what you think is "crap" about the horns. So far, you have only said you don't like the way it plays with your mouthpieces and that the horn is more delicate than a Sousa should be.

I don't work for Jupiter or anything, I am playing devil's advocate here because I feel that Jupiter frequently gets the undeserved short end of the stick.

I think it is important to have this conversation, but to use constructive language so that players, educators and parents can understand why people like instruments or not.

[iiipopes]

Every one of them had a place that the metal vibrated like a buzz. Pitch and scale was not consistent. Tone was thin, which could have been the stock mouthpiece. The metal was so thin you could feel it deform under your hand just picking it up. Out front, the tone sounded fizzy with no real projection or foundation. The Schilke HII did not cure this, just made it not quite as unbearable to listen to.

[SousaSaver]

OK...I'll (reluctantly) bite.

All of this being said, as they seem to now be widely accepted in the industry, I would consider buying a used Jupiter sousaphone (if the price were right) for resale. I'm not going to turn down a chance to sell something (deemed "acceptable" by most band directors) at a profit (as someone else would do it anyway).

Bloke - I find your observations astute, fair and honest. I abbreviated your quote for brevity. Your criticisms are sound and you have good reason behind them. I also give your opinion greater credence because of your experience handling a great variety of Sousaphones.

Out front, the tone sounded fizzy with no real projection or foundation. The Schilke HII did not cure this, just made it not quite as unbearable to listen to.

What is the Schilke comparable to? I'm just curious here. This is a fair observation.

iiipopes - I'm not out to pick a fight. I just think that if you are going to bag on Jupiter, just don't write them off as "crap" without listing some reason why. So thanks for your honest input. I appreciate it.

I do think that Jupiter still has some room to improve on their designs, and I honestly believe they are working hard to do it. I recently had to rebuild a few Jupiter Sousas and they played pretty well for me.

The reason I posted the video with Patrick Sheridan and Sam Pilafian is that they have solid reputations, and I don't think they would feel comfortable lending their names to something they weren't confident is good.

[Arkietuba]

My school bought 18 new Jupiter sousaphones and I'll admit that I was skeptical when I first heard we were doing this, as I am a Conn fan but after playing them when they first came in...I completely changed my opinion. They actually sound like tubas as opposed to sounding "tuba-like". They were fairly easy to tune even with the tuba "holders" we have marching with us. They don't weigh a whole lot and come with several different "bits" and it was easy to make the sousaphone adjust to me. We usually have a couple of guys that had to contort their body to make it work but that's no longer an issue with these.

The only problem I had was there is a slight ringing sound if you play too loud but no one in the stands is really going notice that. They look nice and play nice. I'm a believer now.

[iiipopes]

If you must purchase a Jupiter souzy instead of the Chinese 20K copy that bloke refers to, there is one piece of hardware that is absolutely indespensible: go to a hardware store, purchase a 7-foot length of 5/16 od / 3/16 id clear plastic tubing for each souzy, slit it lengthwise with an exacto knife, and fit it around the rim of the bell to damp the overring.

The next problem with buying new Jupiter souzys is that they are generally replacing institutional horns of whatever age, usually ancient, that have not had the best upkeep, so the old horns look bad and sound bad, and these flashy new cheap by comparison horns are a real temptation.

I just hope anybody who does consider a Jupiter will first play one next to a real King 1250 or Conn 14K that has been properly serviced or, if old enough, rebuilt so that the night and day aspects of how they play can be discerned.

[SousaSaver]

I just hope anybody who does consider a Jupiter will first play one next to a real King 1250 or Conn 14K that has been properly serviced or, if old enough, rebuilt so that the night and day aspects of how they play can be discerned.

Now that's a real test. I love old King 1250's. There is no question what I would choose when comparing the two head to head.

[bigbob]

interesting..thanks makes me feel good I have a King<S>BB

[TCtubaKingConn00]

like i said before i played around on ours and it was crap. i may not be the best player but i am purty good and the guy that played it is purty good if he wouldn't sound like he was playing a contra bass Franch horn and no matter who played it even the director (who played it b4 we got it and said it was fine) it was crap.

about buying another CONN 20K there is a place near us like 15min drive away that specilizes in fixing instruments mostly conn tubas and they sell their's @ bout $2500

[Arkietuba]

like i said before i played around on ours and it was crap. i may not be the best player but i am purty good and the guy that played it is purty good if he wouldn't sound like he was playing a contra bass Franch horn and no matter who played it even the director (who played it b4 we got it and said it was fine) it was crap.

I'm not saying your particular Jupiter your school has isn't "crap" but I have a purty good ear and I'm a performance major and I love the Jupiters our school has. Our tuba professor, who knows a thang or two about tuba, swears by them. Our band directors, who know a thang or two, love them too.

I'm by no means saying that the Jupiters are better than any other horn out there, but I think that a lot of people out there (I'm including myself in that seeing as how I had this mindset for a long time) just have a bias against anything that's not a Conn 20K. I repeatedly try to convince our director to buy 20K's and tried to convince our tuba professor but our school got 18 new Jupiter sousaphones...I played one and my mind quickly changed. The biggest thing I have noticed with these Jupiters as opposed to other sousaphones is that they are VERY free blowing. There is little to no resistance and I feel like I can do whatever I want on that horn and I can't say that with the Conns, Kings or Yamahas we had before.

I'm not saying Jupiter > Conn but I am saying that Jupiter isn't as bad as people are making them out to be. I used to think that they were awful but playing these horns for a semester has changed my mind completely. You can tell a huge difference in how our section sounds from last season to this season. We are much better in terms of intonation and sound.

Maybe we just got the best of the best of their horns?

[DevilDog-2013]

We don't have Jupiter sousas, but we use the convertable Jupiter tubas. They play ok, but we had TONS of problems with the valves and slides. Also have HORRIBLE "drainage"(lets just go with that word) problems. We have to spin them at least once per hour of rehearsal to get rid of the condensation stuck in the tubing (not the slides).
I would not go with a Jupiter tuba. Not to bash the company, maybe it's like this for ALL convertable tubas. But this is just our experience with them. However, they do sound better than our sousas.

[SousaSaver]

We don't have Jupiter sousas, but we use the convertable Jupiter tubas. They play ok, but we had TONS of problems with the valves and slides. Also have HORRIBLE "drainage"(lets just go with that word) problems. We have to spin them at least once per hour of rehearsal to get rid of the condensation stuck in the tubing (not the slides).
I would not go with a Jupiter tuba. Not to bash the company, maybe it's like this for ALL convertable tubas. But this is just our experience with them. However, they do sound better than our sousas.

What Sousaphones does your school have? How could they sound worse than 3/4 size over the shoulder Jupiter Tubas?

About the drainage... If the drainage is in one of the main wraps of the horn, because you have to spin it around, recommend to your band director to have a water key installed. A cheap fix that will save you a headache in the future.

Sam Pilafian plays a Jupiter CC Tuba for what it's worth. A Jupiter 584 CC.

[iiipopes]

Sam Pilafian plays a Jupiter CC Tuba for what it's worth. A Jupiter 584 CC.

That's only because Sam Pilafian has been hired by Jupiter as a consultant, so they give him the horns to play. Now, hopefully, with his input, they will start to improve quality over time.

[Arkietuba]

Andrew Hitz of the Boston Brass plays on that type of Jupiter CC as well. He sounds great and I know The Dirty Dozen Brass Band play on Jupiter horns. Also, Pat Sheridan plays on a Jupiter horn...

Not a bad group of performers for any instrument manufacturer...

[iiipopes]

Again, from the Jupiter website:

"AUSTIN, TEXAS – October 12, 2006 – The Boston Brass has signed on as Artist and Educational Ambassadors for Jupiter Band Instruments. The announcement was made at a surprise appearance by the Boston Brass at the Jupiter annual sales meeting."

And, of course, Pat Sheridan is also a design consultant along with Pilafian.

Don't confuse those who are paid to play, and can get a good tone out of a mushroom can connected with a hose to a garbage can, with those who choose an instrument to play based on the relative merits of any particular instrument.