Sousaphone

CS20 The amazing 11 pound sousaphone!

At the request of the United States Marine Band in Washington D.C. we are building a new complete carbon fiber sousaphone to add to the CF bells that they have had in use for a while.  So… we have been working diligently on a new design for our complete carbon fiber sousaphone with a maximum weight of only 11.5 pounds.  The question is, how many of you are interested enough to sign up for a 11.5 pound Sousa?  We know that price is a major factor so we are going to be upfront with this. It is expensive to build carbon fiber sousaphones.  We are going to offer an introductory price of $9,950 for these sousaphones.  I think if you compare this price with all the other major brands of new sousaphones it is a bargain!  

We will send you an invoice requesting a $2,500 deposit to solidify your place in line. Starting with the first to sign up on the pre-order form! As with our trombones, there is a 15 day trial period. You may return the instrument for a full refund minus shipping and 3% cleaning fee if you don’t love it. Expect 6 to 8 weeks build time for single orders.

Specs:

  • 11.5 pounds total weight
  • 18.5 mm bore
  • 26 inch bell
  • Sousa body and bell very close in design to the famed 20k (weighing 1/3 as much)
  • Gold or silver Cerakote ( a brushed look, extremely durable industrial coating ) finish on the valve section
  • Features a two piece bell section for ease of travel
  • Features all carbon fiber body and bell that is extremely durable and will not dent.
  • Carbon fiber neck and bits
  • Bell connection compression ring for bell to body (no thumbscrews to loose!)
  • A Protec soft sousaphone gig bag

    Sousaphone order form

    Your First Name (required)

    Your Last Name (required)

    School or Institution if applicable

    Your Email (required)

    Your Phone number (required)

    Street address

    City

    State or province

    Country

    ZIP or postal code

     
     Sousaphone bells. 

    Our carbon fiber Sousaphone bell weighs 1/4 of a brass bell and 1/2 the weight of a fiberglass bell.  This significantly reduces physical stress while playing the instrument.  It saves weight where it is needed the most, the most leveraged top of the horn. Our CF bells weigh just 1.8 pounds vs 8 to 10 pounds for a brass or silver plated bell.

    These bells are made with a wall thickness of .03 and are similar to most brass bells.  In our years of experience with trombone bells, wall thickness is a very important consideration in how the bell responds and resonates.  This is NOT a glorified fiberglass bell.  Fiberglass bells have to be made very thick to allow for the lack of strength compared to CF.  In our experience this makes for a very dead sound. Our first customer was The United States Marine Band in Washington D.C. They clearly care about sound!

    These bell flare is 25″ in diameter . The bow is designed so that we can fit most all of the current manufacturers horns, Conn, King, Yamaha, Adams, Eastman and Jupiter.

    The bells are made in two pieces for easy travel. The bow will “nest” inside the bell flare.  Or you may stack all the flares together in one compact box.  The bow and flare connect together with a coarse threaded carbon fiber/nylon bell ring.  These are very tough and are glued in place with an industrial grade glue. The bell connection tenon to the Sousa body is also made of this material. 

    These bells are the same material used in aerospace and extremely durable but in the event of a small crack or glue failure we have a staff of highly trained technicians for any needed repair.

    We offer custom colors and graphics with our CF bells. (Cost varies depending on design). Benefit from lightweight and durable carbon fiber and make your band stand out with a personalized branded statement.

    The price for a carbon fiber bell for your Sousa is $1,950. We also offer school or institution pricing.  Email me at dbutler@butlertrombones.com for more information.

     
    School or institution custom colors and graphics. 
    We were honored to have Carl play and test our CF sousa bells:
    Tubaist Dr. Carl Kleinsteuber has led a varied career to date, including a solo recital in Carnegie Hall, performances and recordings with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein, the Boston Symphony with Seiji Ozawa, the Metropolitan opera under James Levine, the Atlanta Symphony, the Canadian Brass as well as a host of others. He was solo tubist with the Hague (Netherlands) Philharmonic for 24 years. Carl is also active in the jazz field, having performed and recorded with Gravity (a jazz tuba sextet), Lionel Hampton, and Quincy Jones.

    Carl is currently an active freelancer,  and also a member of Brave Combo, a Denton-based band with two Grammy wins to their name.  In addition, he is owner of Denton Big Brass, a DFW merchant providing quality brass musical instruments. Carl also designs, repairs, modifies and builds brass instruments and operates Denton Big Brass in North Texas.

    “I had the opportunity to try out Dave Butler’s carbon fiber sousaphone bell, comparing it to the stock brass bell on his Eastman sousaphone.  I used the BIAS system (Brass Instrument Analysis System; https://www.artim.at/en/bias-for-brasses_basic/)  which is used to objectively measure and diagnose brass instruments.  I also play-tested both bells, and was pleased to find that the carbon fiber bell lacked the annoying “after-ring” which brass sousa bells often have, it also didn’t have the dead-sounding attribute found on most fiberglass sousa bells.  Dave is able to make his bells much thinner than the fiberglass sousas, avoiding that particular pitfall.  

    I immediately noticed vastly improved slotting with the CF bell, in every register.  This alone is a great advancement in instrument production.  And anyone who’s ever ‘worn’ a sousaphone realizes not only that they can be heavy, but there’s the added risk that it is an asymmetrical weight, only on one shoulder.  This can lead to tension and physical problems, so any reduction in weight is valuable. “

     

    The blue line represents brass and the red line represents CF. As you can see, the lines on the graphs are almost identical. 
    “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band performing with Butler carbon fiber sousaphone bells.

    For more information and ordering please go to our store page: https://butlertrombones.com/shop/carbon-fiber-sousaphone-bell/