CG Conn 50th Anniversary Grand Jumbo Sousaphone

[MrBasseyPants]

AWESOME!

I'd love to hear what you thought of it vs. Big Bertha and your Conn Jumbo.


jc

[Biggs]

Big tuba, brah.

[Steve Marcus]

Here's a comparison of the 50th's bell and a standard satin gold plated 46K's bell
36-inches vs. 28-inches

Despite the incredible beauty and minute detail in the engraving, plus the sheer grandeur of a 36" bell, these photos clearly prove Andy Loree's point that the Conn Jumbo 28" bell is almost completely flared (completing the overall scale design of the instrument as a whole) whereas a significant portion of larger bells (30" on the Buescher, 32" on the King, and 36" on the Conn 50th) are more flat "pancake" perpendicular to the floor. The larger diameter may contribute to the visual factor (which was not ignored by band directors in the 1920's and '30s), but seems to be neutral, if not detrimental (bell ring?) in affecting the sound of the horn.

[UDELBR]

This isn't the same sousaphone that was in a glass case up at Interlochen, is it? I got a chuckle from the engraving on that one: the Conn factory lovingly etched into the bell, complete with belching smokestacks.

[Steve Marcus]

This isn't the same sousaphone that was in a glass case up at Interlochen, is it?

You don't really think that there could be more than one of these, do you?

Yes, this is the same instrument that has been locked in a glass case at Interlochen for years. Kiltie made special arrangements to gain access to the horn. He certainly deserves it; no one else has recently done more detailed study of the development of sousaphones and related instruments than he.

[Steve Marcus]

Does your jumbo have mother of pearl on the top valve cap?

No, it has mother of pearl on the valve buttons only.

Once I'm done with the concert this evening I'll try and upload the start of the video.

Are you playing the 50th in concert? With whom?

[MrBasseyPants]

So more or less the 50th is just a standard jumbo (more or less) with a ridiculous bell?

So, assuming you could find someone to make a 36in bell......you could essentially replicate this (intricate engraving aside)?

jc

[MrBasseyPants]

I'm going to Germany this fall....shall I pick one up for you?

I am afraid to know how much a custom 36in or even a 32in bell would cost.

jc

So more or less the 50th is just a standard jumbo (more or less) with a ridiculous bell?

So, assuming you could find someone to make a 36in bell......you could essentially replicate this (intricate engraving aside)?

jc

Yea, the 50th is just a heavily customized 48K - and Conn did offer bells up to 36-inches on the jumbo model. I even know a small German shop that would be more than willing to make the 36-inch bell as long as I provide the angle of the curve of the bell!

[mammoth2ba]

One interesting tid bit that I discovered was that my top and bottom valve caps were switched at one point - the MOP on the caps should go on the top of the valve, not the bottom as it makes more sense to actually see these pearls!

mammoth2ba's Jumbo, which has been playing two concerts per week this summer, has mother of pearl inserts in the bottom valve caps.

Nice to read that kiltie is apparently the second Jumbo player to perform in the ranks of Scottville Clown Band!

[Dan Schultz]

.... mammoth2ba's Jumbo, which has been playing two concerts per week this summer, has mother of pearl inserts in the bottom valve caps....

Mine too! 'cept my Jumbo has FOUR of those pearl bottom caps.

[SousaSaver]

.... mammoth2ba's Jumbo, which has been playing two concerts per week this summer, has mother of pearl inserts in the bottom valve caps....

Mine too! 'cept my Jumbo has FOUR of those pearl bottom caps.

Beautiful! Man those are COOL!

[Steve Marcus]

OK, you guys made me look. Although the valve buttons have mother of pearl tops (thanks, in part, to Lee Stofer for replacing missing ones when he overhauled my 48K), the upper and lower valve caps are merely silver-plated brass.

[Steve Marcus]

[I saw three silver plated vintage Conn lower caps (on eBay) with the mother-of-pearl centers...reasonably priced...

'preciate the thought, there, Bloke. But I'd need 4 of 'em...

Besides, nobody looks under there anyway...

[Dan Schultz]

I've seen mother-of-pearl inserts on the bottom caps of early Conn euphoniums ... not that they would come close to fitting a sousa. Just sayin'.

[Bandmaster]

My 1927 Satin Gold 38K has mother-of-pearl inserts on the bottom caps too, but not on the top caps.

[SousaSaver]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkCZlJbj82g" target="_blank
Not much for playing - couldn't oil valves. It sounds a lot like any other Jumbo, except the bell tends to ring a bit more...Kinda like my old King Giant.

Does it ring more or less than your Conn Jumbo? Do those rings on the bell make any difference?

[Brown Mule]

Here's a comparison of the 50th's bell and a standard satin gold plated 46K's bell
36-inches vs. 28-inches

Would be interesting going in and out of doors with that monstrosity, or onto a BUS. You would have to be a contortionist or------------stay outdoors.

[Steve Marcus]

Good point, Brown Mule. Dealing with standard size doorways and ceiling heights with the 28" bell on my Jumbo is enough of a challenge; the 28" bell just fits through nicely and nestles in the passenger seat of my fairly small sedan. If it were the 30" bell of the Buescher, the 32" bell of the King, or the 36" bell of the Conn 50th, one might have to defy the laws of physics to get it in and out of some places. (not).

[SousaSaver]

It rings more than the standard 28", which doesn't really ring at all. If I could compare it, it sounds like a modern sousaphone. The bell is pretty thin, but that might be due to the extreme diameter and hopeful reduction of weight. The regular 28" bell sounds more like a tuba, like a big 6/4 tuba, but still pretty nimble.

The rings? No idea, seeing as how it's the only sousaphone with those rings that I know of. I'm sure they do something, maybe just for reinforcement to strengthen the huge diameter, but for sound?... That's anyone's guess.

That has to be the most sensible, honest answer I HAVE EVER READ on Tubenet.