Holton BBb Mammoth Helicon from 1912

[SousaWarrior9]

Dang!

[roughrider]

A tremendous find and in such good shape for an older instrument! Enjoy it!

[Kirley]

Beautiful!
Very interesting neck.
Those are the original neck and bits?
Any chance you could post a close up of them?
I wish all neck/bits were screw tightened. I'm tired of friction fit.

[edsel585960]

Yummy!!!!

[humBell]

Ah shucks.

I can't take credit for anything more than bein' bored and checking local craigslist and ebay every now and again. Didn't realize how big this was. Thanks for bein' smarter than i (me?) and gettin' it and then sharin' here so as we all can appreciate it!

I also owe Tabor thanks for a bunch of things, most recently for the salami logs which were dinner for me and a friend on our way back to Boston.

[Wayne Rice]

It's lighter because the bell on a sousaphone can weigh a ton.

[humBell]

And even if they weighed the same, it might be perceived as lighter if it is better balanced.

I wonder if there is like a lever arm scale of sousas? Kinda like windchill.

It's only a 20lb sousa, but it is as awkward to carry as a 30lber because the bell sticks out so far.

[iattp]

You mention the recent interest in using helicons, and I share that. Do we know why it's becoming more popular? I've got my ideas, but I thought to ask.

[Kirley]

I’ve had the Wessex BBb helicon for a few years now. I play it more than my other horns. The simple reason, it’s more comfortable due to the lower center of gravity.

Like humBell mentioned above, it’s got less of a windchill factor.

[Michael Grant]

If you want to hear one of these in action, go to this YouTube channel. William’s has been modified by Martin Wilk. I played and heard many times before the modifications and it was a monster horn then. Great find!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO5qw7 ... uX4Z-CFGUA" target="_blank