New Conn 20K Silver Sousaphones - Plating Issue

[cbirwin]

Just reaching out to see if anyone has purchased Conn 20K silver sousas in the past few years. I am a band director and purchased 8 new ones which were delivered recently. I ordered in June 2023 and started receiving my shipment in late February 2025.

We are noticing some peeling of the silver inside the body, probably 2-2 1/2 feet from the where the bell attaches. I wouldn't have thought much about it but when I was play-testing them, I heard a rattling sound inside. When I looked inside, there appeared to be crumpled up silver plating which looked like a ball of tin foil. It's very hard to see that far down inside with the naked-eye.

Long story short, after receiving all 8, there are various levels of plating issues at the same location as the one I described above. Working with my music store on this....they are very concerned and are reaching out to Conn-Selmer. The concern is sonic-cleaning and more plating sheeting off inside. The store removed a 4" x 6" piece of plating from the sousa described above.

No plating issues on the outside whatsoever on any of them. 2 Other sousas came with braces not attached....

Has anyone else experienced any silver plating issues specific to instruments made at the Eastlake plant recently?

[bloke]

It's probably lubricant that didn't get degreased from the interior when the branches were formed that caused that stuff to not bond.
There's not that much electricity that flows on the interior surface anyway.
As long as the bond seems good on the outside, I would probably shrug it off, particularly if the valves work. (Enough said about the valves on the currently made ones.)