Harwood Sousaphone ID help....

[motteatoj]

Hello all...

I am new to the tuba/sousaphone world. I have been playing trumpet and decided to venture to the deep side. I picked up an old Harwood Sousaphone for a good price, and need some help in finding any additional info on it. I know the bits about J.W. Jenkins, etc, but after that the internet seems to have very little to offer regarding this horn.

It is engraved Harwood Proffessional, with nice engraving. No J.W. Jenkins engraving, like some others seem to have. The #2 valve has a serial number on it of P52996. I can only assume that the valves, etc and bell belong together, although i have no proof one way or the other, other than the bell and valve/tubing all seem to have similar wear. Valves are in great shape, some repair marks on slides/tubing. Based on reading the internet, looks like J.W. Jenkins went belly up around 1922?? So can i assume this horn is that old?

I got the horn on eBay, case says IONA HS Marching Mustangs, with a different manufacturer's name on it (B&S i think). Horn does not fit perfectly in case so i am assuming it has little to do with the horn.

Can anyone tell me if this is made of steel with brass plating? It appears in wear areas the laquer and brass are worn away and a silverish color metal is underneath? Being new to these horns i don't know what is/was the norm.

One thing I have noticed is that slotting on open notes is very, very loose. Much easier slotting on valved notes. Is that normal? Is it just my undeveloped chops?

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks....

I have attached a few pictures...

[Dan Schultz]

"The Harwood" is a stencil made by Conn for Jenkins Music Company. However... parts from the more common Conn sousas such as the 14K or 36K won't interchange because your horn appears to be an Eb.

However.... the neck on your sousa appears to be a King. I don't have a clue what this is about.

[motteatoj]

Thanks for your expertise Dan!

Curious, what tells you this is an Eb horn? I'd like to know for future reference.

Also, does the Conn stencil mean that Conn made the horn?

The neck is loose when the nut is tightened so I would assume it is not original.

[motteatoj]

So I have found out that this is most likely a 1928 Harwood (made by Conn under the Pan American line) Eb horn, most likely a copy of a Pan American 62K.

[Dan Schultz]

Thanks for your expertise Dan!

Curious, what tells you this is an Eb horn? I'd like to know for future reference.

Also, does the Conn stencil mean that Conn made the horn?

The neck is loose when the nut is tightened so I would assume it is not original.

- The 'dummy' pipe that goes over the player's shoulder is an almost sure sign this is an Eb sousa.
- Yes.... Conn made this horn. The word 'stencil' just means that someone else's name is engraved on it.
- The loose neck pretty much confirms that it's a King neck... or at least NOT the neck for your horn.

[Lee Stofer]

The really old Conn Eb sousaphones had a neck shaped like that, and one tuning bit. It is interesting that this Eb sousa sports such a large bell diameter.

The mouthpipe receiver ligature may be messed up, the screw stripped, there may be any of a number of reasons why the neck connection is not tightening up. A good local repairman should be able to determine what is going on and repair this for you, probably pretty inexpensively.