https://reverb.com/ca/item/27595841-wha ... sousaphone
Anyone ever heard of one of these before?
Whaley & Royce Sousaphone
- Tubajug
- Posts: 746
- Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 10:27 am
- Location: Nebraska
- Has thanked: 225 times
- Been thanked: 203 times
Re: Whaley & Royce Sousaphone
I haven't heard of them, but it looks like it's in whaley good condition!
Sorry...I couldn't resist...
Sorry...I couldn't resist...
Jordan
King 2341 with Holton Monster Eb Bell
King/Conn Eb Frankentuba
Pan AmeriConn BBb Helicon
Yamaha YBB-103
"No one else is placed exactly as we are in our opportune human orbits."
King 2341 with Holton Monster Eb Bell
King/Conn Eb Frankentuba
Pan AmeriConn BBb Helicon
Yamaha YBB-103
"No one else is placed exactly as we are in our opportune human orbits."
- the elephant
- Posts: 3414
- Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:39 am
- Location: 404 - Not Found
- Has thanked: 1907 times
- Been thanked: 1350 times
Re: Whaley & Royce Sousaphone
Whaley-Royce was a Canadian firm that holds the honor of inventing the contrabass bugle in the very late 1950s. It was held like a trumpet (in front of you!) and did not catch on. Getzen and Olds produced MUCH better (better being very relative in this case) and the Whaley-Royce contra disappeared after only a year or two.
This horn features valves lacking 50% of their plating. This is an instant No-Go for me as the horn is not worth having these valves rebuilt unless you are a collector. (The casing set would have to be removed, involving a complete disassembly and reassembly, which is well past the point of diminishing returns IMHO.) The bell also looks like it has had the ever-loving snot buffed out of it. I would guess the bell to be *fragile* unless you can drive out to take a look at it. I am betting that Scotch-Brite finish also hides some very thin metal that was buffed and sanded to death before the finish was scrubbed into being.
It might play really well, but I tend to doubt it. These guys were not producing gems or you would hear more about them.
This horn features valves lacking 50% of their plating. This is an instant No-Go for me as the horn is not worth having these valves rebuilt unless you are a collector. (The casing set would have to be removed, involving a complete disassembly and reassembly, which is well past the point of diminishing returns IMHO.) The bell also looks like it has had the ever-loving snot buffed out of it. I would guess the bell to be *fragile* unless you can drive out to take a look at it. I am betting that Scotch-Brite finish also hides some very thin metal that was buffed and sanded to death before the finish was scrubbed into being.
It might play really well, but I tend to doubt it. These guys were not producing gems or you would hear more about them.