Posted by AndyL on November 12, 2003 at 10:01:18:
In Reply to: sousaphones: Conn 20K vs. King... posted by survey on November 10, 2003 at 14:18:29:
FWIW,
I was shopping for a sousaphone earlier this year, and was inclined toward the King until someone suggested I "try one on". The body space inside the wrap is smaller than the Conn, and to make matters _worse_, the King has a tuning slide ahead of the valve cluster that constantly pokes me in the chest. I am not all that large at 6' and 200#.
WORSE YET(!), the same tuning slide has a spit valve on it that always pokes. I played in a parade with a borrowed King, and at the end another band member asked me if I had my shirt open for "extra ventilation"? Turned out the spit valve mentioned above had snagged my shirt when I first shouldered the instrument and ripped the back out from sleeve to sleeve!
I second Marty's opinion on the sound: Conn's project just great. A local high school marches with four vintage 20K's. However, I wound up buying a 70-year-old Martin Handcraft sousaphone with "long action" pistons. It looks similar to a Conn 20K, but is even _larger_ (won't fit in a 20K case). I wouldn't trade it for either of the instruments you're comparing, but you can't pick up the phone and order a "fleet" of new Martins.
Best,
Andy