| Hi everyone,
The original Martin Committee’s been a poly-bore or stepped -bore design.”Step bore" designs is when the bore of the horn expands through the leadpipe, tuning slide and tuning slide bow, and valve slide bows, to the straight tubing and actual bore size opening up the horn and making it freer blowing
Example of modern day poly-bore / step-bore design’s are the Reeves V- Raptor , The Callet Jazz ( .470 bore ) , the Schilke B1,B2, B4, , B6 , B7 , The Lawler Martin and the Marcienk. “ Coppola Model ( .468 ) and I believe the Yamaha 6310 Z “ Bobby Shew “ model based on the Schilke B6 and B7 models.
None of Calicchio’s are a poly-bore design so the closest model, I my opinion, that would sound and play like a Martin would be a 3/9 large bore with a reversed leadpipe design ( .468 ) for the #3 LB Martin and a 1s/9 med. bore( .453 ) reversed leadpipe for the Standard Martin.
The poly-bore designs give the slots a very distant and slippery feeling that lent itself to the 50’s jazz players that wanted to “ bend “ and “ express “ the feeling and mood of the piece they played. A very long leadpipe (which is what a Martin Committee has as it expends thru the tuning slide) will let you play very fluidly and silky, plus have all the notes speak very distinctly when playing very fast lines.
It takes a very special and complicated (mathematical) die to bend a flaring tube 180 degree’s and keep the actual measurements needed as if it was still straight. (a die is two pieces of metal that when put together, like a sandwich, would have the O.D. of the tubing measurements required so a straight tube can be bent and forced hydraulically (or with lead, pitch or resin) to those measurements hoping the consistency of the thickness of the metal stays constant so the ID of the pipe is consistent to the increasing diameter required)
Larry |