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century-old super-tricked-out super-jumbo Conn

It's been on display at Interlochen Center for the Arts for several decades.

pic showed up on social media.

Notice the mouthpiece, @Mikelynch.

Someone told me it's been on loan to some place in Arizona for the last 6 years.

Music Instrument Museum in Phoenix

https://mim.org/news/music-as-art-stun ... -c-g-conn/. <— 3 super engraved Conns

It’s pretty cool in person.

Re the mouthpiece, Bloke—the Conn Visible Embouchure mouthpieces. They were made for all brass. They were made is transparent red and clear, though the clear ones are harder to find to find these days. I recall seeing a picture of one in another color at some point.

hrender wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2026 9:28 am It’s pretty cool in person.

It is definitely much more impressive in person. I saw it as a kid up at Interlochen. Impressive engraving work & the biggest Sousaphone I had ever seen. I remember thinking -geez gotta be a giant PITA to march in a 2 mile parade with it on your shoulder!

Shirley, if you play that REALLY LOUD behind some of the viola players, they might get a little surly with you. I already feel sorry for their cats, & dogs. Yeah, I used to see that every day for several summers.

tofu wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2026 4:26 pm

hrender wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2026 9:28 am It’s pretty cool in person.

It is definitely much more impressive in person. I saw it as a kid up at Interlochen. Impressive engraving work & the biggest Sousaphone I had ever seen. I remember thinking -geez gotta be a giant PITA to march in a 2 mile parade with it on your shoulder!

A member here has one of the King Jumbos and very kindly offered to let me try it at a Tuba Christmas, it's 60~ pounds and you feel every ounce.

York-aholic wrote: Wed Apr 01, 2026 8:00 pm Music Instrument Museum in Phoenix

https://mim.org/news/music-as-art-stun ... -c-g-conn/. <— 3 super engraved Conns

I saw it there in 2024. My niece teaches music in the Tempe schools and I was there for a conference--the two of us visited that museum then. There were a number of tubas there--not by any means as rare and unique as this one--and seemingly all of them in the wrong places for the topic of that particular part of the museum. It's still a fun place to visit, though.

Rick "doesn't make it to Phoenix very often" Denney

As far as the size and weight, I strongly suspect that the huge double oversized sousaphones (not this one, which obviously wasn't really made to be played but just to be shown off) wete mostly played in hotel bands and sat on playing stands, whereby the double bass player could rest his bass on a stand to sit down and play the sousaphone on the next number - as they chose or as deemed appropriate.

Rick “at the MIM in Phoenix” Denney

I enjoy the sarrusophone on the sousaphone.