Posted by ken k on June 07, 1999 at 10:11:11:
Hi, Here's one for all of you tuba instrument trivia experts. I have an old BBb sousaphone with "Abbott Manufacturing Co." engraved on the bell. On the lead pipe is engraved "Made in Czechoslovakia". The horn is nickel with a Gold wash inside the bell. It has a huge bell (didn't measure it), but a small mouthpiece reciever. It uses the small european mouthpiece shank. It plays pretty well too. It is really light(I guess due to the nickel vs. brass composition). The design of the horn is strange. The wrap of the valve tubing is really bizarre and the two branches that go around the players shoulder are reversed. The smaller bow that usually is on the the top actually is on the bottom when you lay the horn down on the ground!
My guess is that Amati made it for the Abbott Manufacturing Co. But the question is what is the Abbott Manufacturing Co? Was it an instrument manufacturer or was it a company who sponsored a company band and had their name engraved on the bell of their instruments? I do not know how old the horn is nor any of the history of the horn unfortunately. ken k