Posted by Joe Sellmansberger on April 12, 1999 at 23:39:52:
In Reply to: 1/2 size sousaphones posted by Rick on April 12, 1999 at 22:22:04:
There were (what is today referred to as) "baby" BBb sousaphones (NOT to be confused with Eb's). Many of the major U.S. manufacturers made these, primarily (I guess) for Jr. High use, as there was no such thing as fiberglass sousaphones back in the '20's, '30's, and '40's. These were generally full-length (eighteen foot long) regular BBb sousaphones with skinnier bores in the body branches to reduce weight. Some other subtile weight-saving features were employed in the valve sections, too, but generally the valve sections on these had the same cylindrical bore as their full-sized-bodied counterparts. Most sounded quite fine, and some actually focused a little better than there regular 4/4 sized counterparts.