Posted by Greg Crider on August 16, 2001 at 12:00:37:
In Reply to: Re: Re: WHAT SOUSAPHONE IS BEST posted by Rob P-M on August 15, 2001 at 13:11:07:
I'll have to admit that the horn I played on was the best of several Sousas, and that it was the best of the Reynolds horns we had. However, the Reynolds horns were far better in tune than the Kings or Conns, thought the tone was not as solid as the Conns. The Kings and Conns could handle higher volume levels that the Reynolds horns, but the R's sounded as good up to the breakup point.
Where the R's shined was the quality of their valves. Neither the Kings or Conns had valves that were nearly as tight, quick, or light as any of the R's. I'll grant that the horn that I played was by far the best of all the Reynolds horns that I've tried over the years, but I've never played any horn that had the ease of facility that it had.