"Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

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pjv
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"Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

Hi,
Recently I received this sousaphone which, though almost every braces loose and the horn has been kicked around it still has potential for a second life.
I can only find the markings "Inspiration" and "Chicago".
I do know that Lyon&Healy made sousaphones, often (or always) manufactured by other companies and that at one point they produced an "Inspiration" line.
But I'm not certain this is a L&H. Every picture I've seen on internet the "Inspiration" has always been accompanied by the company name of L&H.
On the other hand I've seen no other instruments from Chicago with this name.
Any hints?
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

moe pic's
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

ps 26" bell with a 5 1/2" bell collar.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by Steginkt »

If it is, the design is remarkably different from my own Lyon and Healy Inspiration sousie. The thumb ring is about the only similarity
Yamaha Xeno YSL-8820
Willson 3400 Eb
Lyon and Healy Sousaphone
5/4 Rudolf Meinl CC
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

Agreed. In fact I haven’t found any sousaphones that resembles this horn
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

I have as sousa with many similarities to this whose bell inscription says midville clark soloist, if memory serves. Certainly bell and ferrules look alike. The one thing that caught my eye which i don't remember is the right angle brace to the body on the bottom of the 3rd valve circuit. I also pegged mine as Lyon & Healy primarliy by the ferrules.

Will reclaim my ability to post pictures and share, hopefully sometime this week.
Thanks for playing!
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

Thanks. Forget those two braces, they are most definitely non original replacement braces. Also the goose neck receiver is not original.
Many instruments spot ferrules that look similar to the ones on this sousaphone, but this horn differs slightly (and maybe not noticeable in this resolution). Is it clear if I say that the ferrules looking like they are made up of three bands (even though of coarse they are not)?
If you look at the "middle band", it's concave, surrounded by two convex "bands". Most instruments I've seen that have this kind of triple band figure are styled with a convex middle band surrounded by two flat bands.
The instrument was well made. It's survived quite a beating and is still playable and tunes rather well.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

Yup, that is an excellent description of the ferrules, and matches mine.

Seen 'em on a Lyon and Healy Own Make tuba, and... i think it was Viking Eb?

I really also like the bell.

Anyway, will try to get pictures up tomorrow.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

I may have found my own answer.
I'd read that Inspiration was made by L&H but had only seen pictures of this make in a different font and together with the L&H name.
After weeding through http://www.horn-u-copia.net" target="_blank I found this one picture with the same font and without L&H on the bell (only Inspiration). Other pictures of Inspiration instruments showed many of the same characteristics of my sousaphone.
The usage of the Inspiration name with or without L&H confused me, as did the (rather unique??) font.

Please do post your pictures. It might be useful in restoring this sousaphone. Specifically the goose neck, as mine has been "adapted" to receive a Conn neck/mouthpipe.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

See if this works...

Image

Still learnin', but that is a start.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

There does look like there is a patch on the lower leadpipe which could go all the way around, so i am less sure it is original, but it doesn't read as a common replacement, so i guess i too await the wisdom of tubenet...
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by Kirley »

Humbell, that looks an awful lot like a King neck.
Not sure what bit that is, though.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

Then it probably is a King neck...

I just have not played King sousa as often as i might, and paid less attention than i should when i have...

Thanks!
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

Your neck is very much King-like. But the rest doesn't remind me of a Cleveland.
The lower lead pipe is very different from a Cleveland, which is more s-curvy and has the typical double King braces.

Our two instruments do look very similar. Also the placement of the valve tubings. Like yours (at least so it seems) the double loop voor the third is very close, closer then I've seen on other tubas. They distance that they stick out is the same and this section is a distance from the 2nd slide. The Cleveland, for example, the double wrap and the 2nd stick out in a staggered way, following the curve of the sous body.
The placement of the first slide also "looks" the same. Both horns have the two "pulling" knobs on both sides of the first slide (a Cleveland doesn't have them at all)
And most obvious is that both horns have the bell screws on the bell section.

So I'm not guessing Cleveland stencil but possibly another L&H that was "out sourced".
Having said that, I really know nothing about these sousaphones. I've just been trying some detective surfing.

The brace between the bell throat section and the body looks longer on yous.
Also different thumb rests.

If you have the time, please make a picture from the back as well.

Thanks.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

"Cannot run out of time. Time is infinite. You and i are finite. And this is wrong tool. Never use this."
-Zathras (oldest living caretaker of the great machine on Epsilon-3 if memory serves.)

Anyway, is this good enough?

Image

Lemme know if'n ya want more pictures, or if you are anywhere in the north east and want me to bring it by.
Thanks for playing!
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

Thanke kindly!

Now i am scared to look it up, and find i misplaced a word or reversed phrases, or that it turns out to be a different epsilon... Been a while since i watched it.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

Thanks for the backside. For me it just confirms the fact that these two sousaphones related.
But in what way?
My horn is quite obviously an "Inspiration" which was a L&H product.
Horn-u-copia also has "Clark" instruments in their archive but I can find no connection between the two companies.

Guesses anyone?

http://www.horn-u-copia.net/Reference/display.php" target="_blank
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

Oh... That is another thing i missed. I had initially misread it as Midvale Clark and thought that a place name rather than a person, and so didn't even find him in horn-u-copia.

And it is surprising to note Clark's store closed its doors in 2011. That is recent.

Looking further, an antique piano site says Rudolph Wurlitzer company bought them out in the 20s, and kept the name alive in the piano world at least. Their horn-u-copia pictures seem to vary sufficiently in style to lead me to believe they did some importing as well as make their own, similar to Lyon and Healy.

This is all speculation in the extreme, but, well it kept me up an extra half hour following my curiosity.

If don't have better to do, i'll try to add pictures of other instruments with that style of ferrule.
Thanks for playing!
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by pjv »

It’s a shame this post hasn’t attracted the attention of TM’ers that know more about this then we do. I feel like I’m groping in the dark.
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Re: "Inspiration" sous. Lyon & Healy?

Post by humBell »

I know whatcha mean.

At the same time, it is nice to know that different varieties of competent makers were out there. I bet it's hard to have experience with all of 'em.

In my recent wanderings through craigslist, i spotted this posting for a Viking Eb:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=89615

And poking my nose into horn-u-copia, their maker page for Viking is entirely blank, but sousaphone pictured is a smaller version of ours... at least at the bell end.
Thanks for playing!
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