Tuba Tuesday: King, BB flat sousaphone, 3 piston, c.1925

[bisontuba]

Happy Tuba Tuesday. Today, the Museum features a King, BB flat sousaphone, 3 piston, c.1925.

Serial #: 85692

Bell Diameter 26”, Bore Size .689.

Comments:

“KING / THE H.N. WHITE CO. / CLEVELAND / OHIO” on bell. “THE / KING / MADE BY / H.N. WHITE / CLEVD. O. / 85692” on first valve.



https://simonettitubacollection.com/ins ... ousaphone/

[bloke]

I believe that - when King introduced the model 1250 sousaphone (radically different valve section plumbing), they retained that old model tooling for a few decades and continued to manufacture and sell it as the (lower-priced, compared to 1250 pricing) "Cleveland" model. (I suspect ...?? that King - with the introduction of the model 1250 - was simply trying to make their model more distinguishable - at a glance - from the Conn products.)

Those earlier-and-Cleveland versions play just as well, but (besides a different look) the 1250 also offered King an avenue to charge two prices for sousaphones, depending on whether a customer was shopping for value or for status...and - hey - if your "budget" sousaphone looks like a Conn, what does that say?

bloke "me...?? I'm the more snooty sort of sousaphone shopper...I'll wait three years - or so - until I can find just the sousaphone I'm looking for locally - in someone's garage full of junk - for $400...or FREE - out of a school's dumpster."

[arpthark]

I love(!) King sousaphones. My friend has a really, really nice 1250 that is one of the best tubas (regardless of shape) that I have played. Buttery valves, great sound, and the facility between registers on it is just acrobatic.

The 1250 plays better than similarly-sized Conns, but I do have a 36K that I make do with.

My one gripe is that skinny-@$$ main tuning slide.