A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post Reply
theticketstub
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:12 pm

A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by theticketstub »

I play a 1934 KING Eb Sousaphone...sounds gorgeous but rings. When recording, I've had a friend hold my bell to deaden the ring. Can anyone recommend a pretty way to deaden it? I don't want to tape it up, she's an old beauty. And no, neon tape isn't any prettier. Thank you for the advice!
User avatar
harrisonreed
Posts: 4487
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:18 pm
Location: Fort Riley, Kansas
Contact:

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by harrisonreed »

[checks website name]

Did you try....tape?

You can get those tuba leather things that go around the bell throat. That might work. Or put some silly putty somewhere on the bell where no one will see it, maybe with some coins mixed in.
pompatus
Posts: 400
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 2:19 pm

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by pompatus »

Maybe a pool noodle, or possibly a small section of one, cut lengthwise to slip over the bell rim.
User avatar
robcat2075
Posts: 1338
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 2:58 pm

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by robcat2075 »

How about some half-way sawed-thru squishy balls that could be wedged onto the rim?
squishyball.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
>>Robert Holmén<<

Hear me as I play my horn

See my Spacepod movie
User avatar
BrianJohnston
Posts: 714
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2020 7:49 pm
Location: North America
Contact:

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by BrianJohnston »

Isn't a ringing bell what you want?
Fort Wayne Philharmonic
User avatar
greenbean
Posts: 1784
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 6:14 pm
Location: San Francisco

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by greenbean »

Nice when the sound rings but not the bell!...

I would try some clear tubing that can be found at any hardware store. I forget if it is 1/4" or 3/8" that you want. Slit it with a blade and slip onto the bell rim. Also, strategically place gaffer's tape might help.
Tom in San Francisco
Currently playing...
Bach Corp 16M
Many French horns
OneTon
Posts: 402
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2021 11:44 am

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by OneTon »

Any kind of tape will eventually damage the lacquer, if there is any left. I would piece 8-inch wide strips
Of leather or get one piece from a hide. Size it to just short of the circumference of the bell. Flap the leather around the bell circumference. Use the Belt hole tool to put holes in each end and tie it similar to football lacing.
Richard Smith
Wichita, Kansas
User avatar
TheBoneRanger
Posts: 209
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by TheBoneRanger »

BrianJohnston wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 11:50 am Isn't a ringing bell what you want?
Often on sousaphones, one note in particular will ring (on my current work sousa, it's a B) and ring for seconds, loudly and audibly to those around you, or any microphone in the vicinity.

It's not resonating and ringing in your hands like, say, most Shires trombones do. It's actually sounding a note.

Andrew
glenp
Posts: 144
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:25 pm

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by glenp »

TheBoneRanger wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:44 pm ring for seconds, loudly and audibly to those around you
I believe you're referring to a sympathetic resonance.
User avatar
Doug Elliott
Posts: 2950
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:12 pm
Location: Maryand

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by Doug Elliott »

There is flexible edge protector made for car doors and other such things, that may snap onto the rim. Some even comes in colors. It might not be enough but it's worth a try.
"I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two."
OneTon
Posts: 402
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2021 11:44 am

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by OneTon »

Wag Aero has stuff for airplanes and then there always is alligator grommet.
Richard Smith
Wichita, Kansas
baileyman
Posts: 965
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 11:33 pm

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by baileyman »

harrisonreed wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:18 pm
... Or put some silly putty somewhere on the bell where no one will see it, maybe with some coins mixed in.
I'd vote for that. Or silicone rubber, like what fishing worm lures are made of. Drummers often put little rectangles of the stuff on drum heads to cut the ring, and it's magic.
User avatar
hyperbolica
Posts: 2791
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 7:31 am

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by hyperbolica »

theticketstub wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:11 pm I play a 1934 KING Eb Sousaphone...sounds gorgeous but rings. When recording, I've had a friend hold my bell to deaden the ring. Can anyone recommend a pretty way to deaden it? I don't want to tape it up, she's an old beauty. And no, neon tape isn't any prettier. Thank you for the advice!
You might get some heavy macrame or needlepoint and stretch it over the bell throat. That's how trombone bells ringing is usually damped (well, with some sort of material stretched over the throat). Or you might put the duct tape around and then paint it with flowers and cows and whatnot (ala DJ Kennedy), if you want it to look less like duct tape. On a 1934 sousy, I doubt there's any lacquer left to worry about.
timothy42b
Posts: 1467
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2018 5:51 am
Location: central Virginia

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by timothy42b »

Swim noodle. About a dollar USD most places. Cut a slit just into the center and try sliding it onto the bell. You might need the whole circumference, or maybe just a foot. Also protects the bell if you bump something.

A one foot piece can be slit and pushed down over a car window for.............well I better not say.
Kdanielsen
Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Jul 28, 2019 9:35 pm
Location: New England

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by Kdanielsen »

baileyman wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:24 am
harrisonreed wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:18 pm
... Or put some silly putty somewhere on the bell where no one will see it, maybe with some coins mixed in.
I'd vote for that. Or silicone rubber, like what fishing worm lures are made of. Drummers often put little rectangles of the stuff on drum heads to cut the ring, and it's magic.
the drum stuff is called Moon Gel.
Kris Danielsen D.M.A.

Westfield State University and Keene State College
Lecturer of Low Brass

Principal Trombone, New England Repertory Orchestra
2nd Trombone, Glens Falls Symphony
User avatar
greenbean
Posts: 1784
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 6:14 pm
Location: San Francisco

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by greenbean »

Why are you asking trombonists, anyway? This is a tuba problem - specifically sousaphones. Many of the above trombonists are clearly trying to be helpful; it is also clear that they have never experienced this common sousaphone problem. Just sayin'...
Tom in San Francisco
Currently playing...
Bach Corp 16M
Many French horns
CharlieB
Posts: 328
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:51 pm
Location: Maryland

Re: A pretty way to deaden sousa ringing?

Post by CharlieB »

Post Reply

Return to “Modification & Repair”