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Up for sale is my beloved 1930s York Grand Rapids Monster Sousaphone, overhauled by George Borodi in Cleveland in around 2015. I’ve had the horn for about 10 years, but I was a little too ambitious with how I wanted to use it. It’s been maintained, but I have not played it much at all over the last 6 years. Keep in mind this horn is a MONSTER and a very large and heavy instrument. Pre-WWII brass and I don’t think I’ve been able to put a new dent in it since owning it. It’s basically a tank.
The sound is deep, dark and pure. And it is buttery-smooth to play. It has such a wide range of resonance that, even with 3 valves, the intonation is fantastic. The valves themselves are in great condition and they also have the spring caps for emptying water. Slides are also in good condition.
It does have its quirks. The leadpipe has been modified to take a Conn gooseneck and modern mouthpiece. Because of the way it has been modified, I prefer to play it without any bits, but can also play it with 1 bit (2 bits would be a challenge and throw off the balance too much for me, but I'm a bigger guy so take that fwiw; I've had students that can use 2 bits comfortably). Because of this, you have to compensate a bit with the main tuning slide (~3in) to keep it in tune. Gooseneck screw, water key spring and cork have now been replaced! See pictures.
Includes Coon gooseneck and 2 bits. I had a shoulder pad and cradle pad installed and will include both. The case has been modified to be able to fit this horn but it is far from optimal. Not a particularly useful case, but good for storage.
I’m located in the Charlotte, NC area if you’d like to try it out. I’m asking for $4500, shipping is possible but you'll have to cover it.
It looks like I'm still locked out of PMs, but I have the same name and have the horn listed on tubenet and my email is in my profile.
