Thomann SHF-400 MKII Bb-Sousaphone

A good instrument and value for money. Looks great. Good sound. I bought it to play in a street band, as it has a great "wow" factor! I have been playing it for a few months. Everyone loves it!
Well made. It has initial brass tubing and valves fitted to widening fiberglass tubing and bell. All ok. The bell is secured to the main body by 3 screws. All valves have tuning slides, and there is a main tuning slide with spit valve. The whole instrument is held together securely by stays.
The 4th valve is great if you want to play really low. I chose this model as I normally play bass trombone, and the 4th valve is like having an F key on a trombone.
With practice I have a range of all notes from pedal Bb (Bb0) up 3 octaves to Bb3.
I find the 2nd valve a little bit sticky and have yet to find the best lubrication for it. The main problem seems to be that this valve collects most of the condensation. To empty, it is necessary to turn the instrument upside down, press the valve down, and remove the tuning slide associated with the valve (this is easily done without taking the instrument off). Also, notes played with 2nd valve down are a bit flat and have to be lipped up.
Generally, I'm very happy with it.

This Sousaphone is an excellent instrument for its price and is complementary to our comedy marching band where the instrument will be used in carnivals and arena shows throughout the mid to south of the UK and occasionally in European countries. It plays well, it is loud, the tone is very good and the build is very good too bearing in mind the cost and that some embellishments are plastic or similar rather than brass. Our player is amazed at how easily playable the instrument is and how well it sounds and the provision of the 4th valve certainly helps this. It may be of Chinese manufacture but the design is first class and, in our opinion, one of the better instruments from China that we have ever purchased. Thomann have certainly got a Sousaphone of quality alongside all their instruments. In addition to the instrument itself it comes with a hard case to protect it in transit. We have had Sousaphones in our Band for over 30 years but we can say this purchase betters all our previous models.

I bought this as a stopgap while my vintage Conn was being repaired. For the price I cannot fault it. It comes with a decent wheeled hard case and, despite losing a small amount of "feel" through the fibreglass, it blows really well. Far from being a spare instrument it has become a regular first choice as it is lighter than a full brass instrument (the 4th valve tubing does add weight) and covers the full range with a good tone and intonation. The only downside (hence 4 stars for quality) is that the fixing stays work loose over time which means the whole body of the instrument flexes. I carry a small tool kit but some of the bolts are tricky to tighten but that said it is a superb instrument for the price and anyone buying one will not be disappointed.