An early three-valve Conn Monster

I dropped in on Dillon Music this afternoon to chat with Steve Dillon and to check out a vintage Conn Sousaphone that they have on consignment. Matt Walters, the world-class tuba technician at Dillon, graciously let me spend some quality time with this enormous old beast:

The first thing I noticed about this horn was how much bigger the bell and bell throat appeared in comparison to the original Sousaphone built by J. W. Pepper. And then I picked it up - yikes! I asked Matt if we could weigh it, and the scale put it right at 33 pounds - the exact weight of Conn's first Sousaphone (which had four valves), according to one newspaper report from 1901.

The serial number - 91790 - suggests that this Monster was built in 1905, or perhaps 1906 - about three years after Conn first created and started selling a three-valve Sousaphone. But this one seems larger than the standard model (compare where my head is in relation to the bell vs. what can be seen in the ad from 1902 in the link above).

Here are more photos of this great old Sousaphone. If it had a model number, I'm not sure what it would have been at this early stage. There was nothing on the horn itself that suggested anything.

The bell diameter is 24 inches; the bell throat is 7 1/8 inches; and the bore is .773 inches. And as I mentioned earlier, the weight is a shoulder-crushing 33 pounds - which is what Conrad had to deal with during his time with the Sousa Band. I can't imagine shouldering a horn of that size and weight for an entire concert!

Sadly, and quite surprisingly, this particular Sousaphone didn't sound all that great. I was expecting a much clearer and deeper sound, but it felt stuffy, and not nearly as boomy as my 1927 Pan American 64K Sousaphone (= Conn 14K), which is considerably smaller and lighter.

But it would be fun to learn where this old Conn raincatcher has been over the past 112 years!

Well, looks like a Sousaphone to me!

I went to our local Game Stop with my son this afternoon, and stumbled upon this little critter:

He (?) apparently spews bubbles in battle, and is known as "Big Bubble Pop Fizz" as part of the "Skylanders SuperChargers" - whatever that is (or they are!). But it looks to me like he plays the Sousaphone!

Penn State University Sousaphones

My son, Jonathan, will be attending Penn State this fall, and he plans to play Sousaphone in the Blue Band. I was checking out the band building with my parents yesterday, and got to see one of the Conn 20K's that are used on game day (the horns in the rack behind me are the practice horns - mostly old Kings, as far as I can tell).

We also found something of an historic Sousaphone among the Land-Grant Frescoes in the lobby of Old Main, which were painted in 1940:

Here's the exterior of Old Main - we enjoyed a glorious June day in State College, PA. This life-long USC Trojan is starting to grow quite fond of Penn State (of course, winning the epic Rose Bowl this past January helps)!