Sick Sousaphone


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Steve Marcus on July 03, 2001 at 07:47:27:

Last evening, I was loaned an old, decrepit Conn 20K sousaphone at a rehearsal in preparation for July 4th parades
(yes--4 consecutive parades--I WILL be wearing a shoulder pad and toting a water bottle). Two other 20Ks were being played by others; I tried them, and they each played fine. But the one that I was loaned was a sick puppy.

Although the notes with valve combinations were somewhat tolerable, all of the open notes barely spoke. It was nearly impossible to center the pitch or play those notes in tune. The horn sounded awfully stuffy on those notes. I took the bell off, removed as many slides as would budge, and attempted to empty the horn of any contents that might be within. Only some dust and dirt appeared. I got so frustrated that I retrieved my own CC tuba out of my car and started to play the marches on it. But that defeated the purpose of practicing the 3-valve BBb fingerings, so I hauled the sousaphone back onto my shoulder and suffered with the ugly sound.

The band director will secure another sousaphone for me for Wednesday. But I'm curious about what is the most likely reason for the 20K's malady. Is it more likely that there is something buried inside the horn, or rather that the main circular branch, being so bent out of shape, prevented the open notes from speaking properly?

BTW, for those who are interested, the band director will probably have me play his Holton Chief raincatcher with the bell turned at a 45 degree angle to face somewhat forward.




Follow Ups: