Posted by to be fair on December 20, 2003 at 10:52:18:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Midwest posted by Jupiter 4valve = bad on December 20, 2003 at 10:02:00:
You're almost certainly correct about the braces. This is something observable regardless of anything else...and I'm no fan of Jupiter sousaphones. Though they sort of make them appear to be sort of similar to King and (long discontinued) Olds/Reynolds, Jupiters are just plain flimsy...and their pistons turn black and stick after a few months use.
the "to be fair" part:
As far as "head space" and "even some of our smaller players hit their head on the bell screws", I've observed that most folks hold sousaphones incorrectly.
If the tuning bits are not approaching the player's mouth from the player's left, the neck and bits are all twisted around backwards. Generally, if the neck and bits are installed where the bits approach the mouth from the player's left, a player can even wear a shako without interference with a forward-facing bell.