Carl Fischer Helicon
(1883-1893)

What a sound.  It's sooo...tuba
strange.  Not a bad sound...
just different.  It's big and heavy.
The bell is removable and
original.  How It survived in
such good shape is a miracle.
It was in the school system down
in So. Calif. (one of the teachers
was using it in an opera orchestra)
and they wanted to trade it for a
regular sousaphone.  I had one
and we struck a deal.  I'd use it
for  novelty solos but had to sit
on a stool in case I fainted. 
It takes a ton of air!