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So I have been reading your guys frankentuba threads for quite a while now. I have been interested in getting myself a sousaphone for parading because i really dont want to march with my concert tuba. I really like the style/look of the pre-WWI helicons. But i dont like the idea of having my bell behind my head. I also cant spend much money on this horn (wife thinks i dont need another tuba too much money...). I am a big diy'er. So here comes my horrible idea.

FrankenSousa!

I want to build a sousa with 4 rotary valves in the key of Cc. Oh yeah, i prefere playing on a Cc.

And this is as far as my project has gone so far; Concept.

So i need to start collecting parts. I am horrified at prices people are asking for destroyed, non functioning, half missing sousaphones... for a couple hundred bucks more i can get a functioning horn.... whats up with that? Then i need to find a complete 4v rotary valveset and slides.... my budget for these parts i think should be no more than $600...

This will be my first modification project and the end product isnt my only goal. Its also my repair learning project. The parts i want to find need to be mostly complete but in terrible condition.

I am confident that i can do this. I have worked in manufacturing, fabrication, machining for nearly 20 years. I currently work in a machine shop operating a cnc swiss lathe. Its a really cool job. Always busy.

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Your going to be hard pressed to find a good rotor set and a Sousa body for cheap. Tubas are expensive and so are parts.

I’ve seen a couple people actually get a Eb sousaphone and lengthen it to Cc. Id think that would be a much easier conversion.

I totally agree on all points. But, i know theyre out there. A few years ago, when i was unable to persue musical adventures, i witnessed a school dump a truckload of old brass instruments at the scrapyard. Among the instruments was a functional sousa... during covid, they cleaned out the band room closets (district wide) and tossed anything that didnt look modern into the back of a truck. They couldnt be bothered to try selling the stuff. I was told they got $200. For the load. Today i could give them a grand for it. Then, i could not. Makes me sick.

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I would just buy a BBb and learn how to play it. Much less hassle. I was a military musician for many years. My concert horns were CC and F. Marching and ceremonial gigs was a BBb sousaphone. Although I don't play much anymore, and I mainly play CC when I do, the BBb comes back easily for the few marching gigs I play. I went almost 20 years between sousaphone gigs and I picked it back up like riding a bike.

I've heard that Buescher BBb sousas are easier to shorten to CC than others because of how they are constructed from the factory. I can't remember the details but "search" may help or maybe someone who actually knows could comment.

( FWIW, Wessex sells a CC helicon.)

off topic, and addressed in another thread, but you’re bringing it back up, so…

Grumpikins wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 3:23 pm …A few years ago, when i was unable to persue musical adventures, i witnessed a school dump a truckload of old brass instruments at the scrapyard. Among the instruments was a functional sousa... during covid, they cleaned out the band room closets (district wide) and tossed anything that didnt look modern into the back of a truck. They couldnt be bothered to try selling the stuff. I was told they got $200…
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…the typical problem for the taxpayer of salaried government employees being in charge of public property. It’s not their money, and they seem to be able to write up requisitions and get new stuff fairly easily… so why care if repairable old stuff is repairable or not, or - for that matter - how equipment is treated.
… and this goes for a nearly infinite list of stuff - stuff that often costs geometrically more than band instruments. It’s not all of the reason, but this is definitely a contributory reason why stuff that might cost a dollar when I was born now costs $10. (Inflation is a completely intentional form of taxation, and the primary purpose of taxation is ~not~ to purchase things that are needed for the public good, but to deprive people of their earnings and property .)
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sousaphone project:
I suppose you will learn some things from this, including what is feasible, what is not, and what new and used parts cost.

Thank you. I just want to "Do" something. Learn new things. And hopefully come out the other end (hahaha) with something fun, different, and interesting. Not poop.

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