Greetings,
I'm interested in hearing pros and cons of using a brass bell on a fiberglass sousaphone. I have back problems, and the fiberglass horn has been very helpful. However, the sound is not quite what I want. So, any opinions, experience etc., would be welcome.
Brass bell on fiberglass sousaphone
-
iiipopes
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:26 pm
- Has thanked: 148 times
- Been thanked: 213 times
Re: Brass bell on fiberglass sousaphone
Oh, God! NO!!! Sousaphone tone is determined by the bugle, not the bell. By the time the tone gets through the bugle after the valve block, it is already determined. Since I started playing souzy in the fall of 1976, I have played about every souzy out there, brass and 'glass, and all variants. So this comment is from experience. If you want a light weight "glass souzy with good intonation, get a "real" (pre-cyborg) Conn 36K (mine was refurbished by Lee Stofer, with the standard .734 valve bore) or for even more projections, a pre-cyborg King 1280 (old numbering), (or equivalent Olds or Reynolds - these all have the same .687 smaller valve bore) and be done with it. All the brass bell will do is make the horn top-heavy and cause physical instability in holding on to it.
Last edited by iiipopes on Fri Dec 06, 2024 3:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jupiter JTU1110
"Real" Conn 36K
K&G 3F
"Real" Conn 36K
K&G 3F
Re: Brass bell on fiberglass sousaphone
That was my experience with the Jupiter FiberBrass 1010 sousaphone I tried. It wasn't any better than the Jupiter fiberglass but was wonky to balance.
For me.. now that I am just about at the half century mark.. I use the Eb sousa for any long walking gigs. A lot less weight and a great sound. Mine had really good false tones but generally I just play the low parts up the octave.
For me.. now that I am just about at the half century mark.. I use the Eb sousa for any long walking gigs. A lot less weight and a great sound. Mine had really good false tones but generally I just play the low parts up the octave.
As amateur as they come...I know just enough to be dangerous.
Meinl-Weston 20
Holton Medium Eb 3+1
Holton Collegiate Sousas in Eb and BBb
Conn 20J
and whole bunch of other "Stuff"
Meinl-Weston 20
Holton Medium Eb 3+1
Holton Collegiate Sousas in Eb and BBb
Conn 20J
and whole bunch of other "Stuff"
Re: Brass bell on fiberglass sousaphone
Dave Butler (of carbon fiber trombone renown) is now making carbon fiber sousa bells. Much thinner than fiberglass, so doesn't get that 'dead' sound, and several pounds lighter than a brass bell. https://butlertrombones.com/sousa/
Re: Brass bell on fiberglass sousaphone
...and about USD$2k/ea I believe....UncleBeer wrote: ↑Fri Dec 06, 2024 5:02 am Dave Butler (of carbon fiber trombone renown) is now making carbon fiber sousa bells. Much thinner than fiberglass, so doesn't get that 'dead' sound, and several pounds lighter than a brass bell. https://butlertrombones.com/sousa/
Not gonna lie, I'd love to have one for the cool factor alone, but that out of my cool-factor budget range...
-
bloke
- Mid South Music
- Posts: 20762
- Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:55 am
- Location: western Tennessee - near Memphis
- Has thanked: 4293 times
- Been thanked: 4559 times
Re: Brass bell on fiberglass sousaphone
I never criticize others' pricing of their stuff - neither new nor used.
It's difficult for me to "get" the business model on those.
Let's assume that legion King sousaphone players - beyond Unc - just them as amazingly beneficial.
- Band directors (as a group) are extremely prejudicial in regards to plastic materials. They want BRASS sousaphones with SILVER PLATING on them (regardless of how impractical that may be) and (mostly) even seem to (in my experience) discourage the use of Lexan mouthpieces. It seems to be the SCHOOL market would be (or would have been - however this proves out) the BEST market for these - because that market involves people NOT spending their own money (other examples - buying $1XXXX tubas, bassoons, bass clarinets, sousaphones, etc. for use-and-or-severe-abuse by children).
- Individuals (such as myself) - who seek out fiberglass sousaphones (and I'm referring to "for our own use", and not "bloke looking for deals that are already in fairly good condition for flipping") mostly (likely?) are looking for fiberglass sousaphones priced below the cost of those newly-introduced bells. Additionally, if someone happens to own a (King) brass-or-fiberglass body (yet no bell), I tend to wonder how many of them (vs. "I need to find a $200 - $500 used brass/fiberglass bell for this King body, so I'll have me a sousaphone) will think to themselves, "Wow. All I need to do is order me a $XXXX carbon fiber bell for this brass/fiberglass King sousaphone body".
again (re: introductory paragraph).
ALL POWER TO THEM.
People (certainly consumer-oriented Americans) WILL buy stuff, those things ARE made in the USA, there is a strong aftermarket/retrofitted customization consumer market in the USA (all disciplines), and the USA needs (way) more domestic manufacturing (whether its dollar-store coffee cups or fancy-schancy aftermarket retrofitted stuff).
It's difficult for me to "get" the business model on those.
Let's assume that legion King sousaphone players - beyond Unc - just them as amazingly beneficial.
- Band directors (as a group) are extremely prejudicial in regards to plastic materials. They want BRASS sousaphones with SILVER PLATING on them (regardless of how impractical that may be) and (mostly) even seem to (in my experience) discourage the use of Lexan mouthpieces. It seems to be the SCHOOL market would be (or would have been - however this proves out) the BEST market for these - because that market involves people NOT spending their own money (other examples - buying $1XXXX tubas, bassoons, bass clarinets, sousaphones, etc. for use-and-or-severe-abuse by children).
- Individuals (such as myself) - who seek out fiberglass sousaphones (and I'm referring to "for our own use", and not "bloke looking for deals that are already in fairly good condition for flipping") mostly (likely?) are looking for fiberglass sousaphones priced below the cost of those newly-introduced bells. Additionally, if someone happens to own a (King) brass-or-fiberglass body (yet no bell), I tend to wonder how many of them (vs. "I need to find a $200 - $500 used brass/fiberglass bell for this King body, so I'll have me a sousaphone) will think to themselves, "Wow. All I need to do is order me a $XXXX carbon fiber bell for this brass/fiberglass King sousaphone body".
again (re: introductory paragraph).
ALL POWER TO THEM.
People (certainly consumer-oriented Americans) WILL buy stuff, those things ARE made in the USA, there is a strong aftermarket/retrofitted customization consumer market in the USA (all disciplines), and the USA needs (way) more domestic manufacturing (whether its dollar-store coffee cups or fancy-schancy aftermarket retrofitted stuff).