Posted by Lee Stofer on May 23, 2003 at 07:15:51:
In Reply to: Yamaha Sousaphones posted by Zach on May 22, 2003 at 13:39:01:
Zach,
The Yamahas are not terrible, but they are not the best of the pack, either.
The Conn 20K is a great deal, and worth waiting for. If the "Bach" sousaphones made by Yamaha are priced better, that might be a consideration, but I doubt that there is any appreciable price difference.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the recent King sousaphones I've worked on, and recent Jupiter sousaphones look identical, and I think they are. I picked up two "King" sousas from a local university yesterday that are 1 year old. The removable valve sections (first clue) had been removed and sent back for warranty work (lacquer problems). They handed me the returned valve sections in a Jupiter box, unopened from shipping. If you have a good repairman locally and take REALLY good care of them, Jupiter/Kings might work out, but i'd consider it "iffy".
So, I think the 20K is the only really American-made sousa still available.
I recently took in four King 2350 sousaphones which are about 20 years old, but have newer cases. I plan to de-dent and clean up these four instruments, which should be a blessing to some school system out there this Fall. They won't look quite like new Kings (or cost nearly as much), but they will play like winners and look decent.
To respond to the "What's the best..." posting in this thread, the #1 sousa I've ever played is a Martin jumbo BBb, lighter than a 20K, big sound, sweet response. I have owned two Conn jumbo sousas which both played very well (particularly the one I now have), but it is really physically demanding to handle. Otherwise, the Conn 20K is a perennial favorite, the older, the better.
Lee Stofer