Boy, I feel dumb

[eupher61]

For an Eb to not have the fake brace, it would be a small wrap. there is reason that brace is there...to make the horn carryable. Just maybe, a helicon might not have thst...but my F does.

[Chadtuba]

I have on old King Eb sousaphone that is the full circle. I can fit my large rotund self into it with little problem though I freely admit I do enjoy the extra room of the BBb and the half circle/braced Eb. Though I haven't committed to anything yet, I may decide to sell my Eb sousas and try to get a BBb instead.

[Chadtuba]

I love my Eb horns its just that every time I put on a sousaphone my mind automatically goes to BBb and I'm tired of fighting with myself because I always lose I have absolutely no problems going between BBb, Eb, euphonium, and trombone in a concert setting but something just clicks when I put on a sousaphone. Oh well, I may still keep one of the Eb sousaphones (I have 3), but I still want a BBb to go with it.

[Lew]

I have played two different Eb sousas that were full circle. One was a King, as others have referenced, and the other was a Buescher. I seem to remember seeing a Reynolds in that configuration once. In any case, the opening on those was definitely tight, and I saw no real benefit to that design, especially with 4 valves. The only Eb sousaphone I have now is a Conn 28K and it is definitely more comfortable to hold than the full circle ones.