Larry Gianni

Hi All,

Tom T.

Thanks for saying so concisely what it took me 2 long, arduous posts to try to communicate. You said it in a ' Nutshell ". I’m just trying to give credit when credit is deserved.
Having been associated with the Calicchio trumpet line and being able to see how a trumpet is made , gave me great insight into how hard it is to make a top of the line trumpet and how easy you can have a “ bone pile “ of brass parts if your not careful.
That‘s why I applaud any instrument company (I also admire the Schilke line for keeping attention to detail as a priority and putting out consistent, top of the line, brass products and mouthpieces from it conception in 1957 and never resting on it’s laurels) that strives to put out a quality product and not just worry about how many get shipped that day.


Mike and Trickg,

I understand your posts about how easy a resin or plastic polymer quick drying compound would be in making dupe’s of backbores’s and leadpipes. I also had the same thoughts when I first say the procedure of manually getting the measurements for a leadpipe dupe using a digital depth gauge and small , round pieces of metal, .002 thick at .001 increments round ( .468 x .002 round , .467 x .002 round ) attached to a ¼ thick about 8 inches long attached to the gauge. I brought up the subject of a resin or polymer that could give you a negative or a tapered cylinder and Zig explained to me his exploits in the past using all types of these compounds and seeing how off the results were when double checked. To invest a lot of money making dupe backbores and leadpipe off of a bad mold is ‘the kiss of death “for this kind of stuff. After he told me, it made a lot of sense.

If you did get a resin or platic polymer copy of the backbore or leadpipe what then. I invested in a set of top of the line digital calipers , digital micrometers and digital depth gauges and assoc. The 3 cost me over $1400.00, not including the other attachments that you buy separately.

If you could measure by hand every, say, .005 this. on a negative of a backbore or even a worse leadpipe, then you would have to guess at the numbers in between. I've measured the crooks on trumpets, bells and tuning slides to compare vintage versus new models. If I measure one point on a vintage from the outside and mark it. Take the same measurement on the new and mark it, lets use .475 (OD), for example, and it's in a different spot, on each one, then what?

All that tells me is that the two individual bells crooks or tuning slide crooks are different. No how? not why? Not which is better? not why the maker did what he did?
Which one was intentional and which one is wrong? not why if it’s different why it was changed?, what should the real number be?, wonder both are wrong an a third one has different numbers? See what I mean.
Secondly, if I'm in business selling exact duplicates, then they better be exact duplicates or the finicky trumpet public will be flooding the phones with problems and complaints, probably all about a couple .001 here and a couple .001 there, a feeling when they play it.

Mouthpieces come with an array of inherent problems that the brass playing public brings to the table, so I wouldn't want to anger the trumpet community by not giving it the best shot possible.

As you probably know, some think mouthpieces are a “snake oil “of cures and when it doesn’t work out as expected, there's hell to pay by the mouthpiece maker.

I’m not trying to beat a dead horse, so sorry if I went one to long.

“Backbore Comparator:

I was asked this question privately, but why not share with us all. Why on the backbore comparator des it show the backbore as having steps to it when we all know it cylindrical, smaller opening ( throat ) to bigger ( end of backbore ) , cut smoothly. ?

On the backbone comparator, a ruby tipped, very small rod is placed in the backbare after the mouthpiece is placed and secured on a perfectly balanced granite platform top, with the rim placed on the table so the backbore is facing straight up in the air. The ruby tipped tool takes the measurement by making a circular motion ( like it is following a spring down the back of the mouthpiece ) and measurements are taken all along the each and every point as the tool spirals it’s way down and then back up again, checking itself as it goes. Imagine a big “slinky “, resting on its end. And the coils represent all the points of measurement made by the comparator as it winds down and back up the backbore.

Why the backbone comparator shows a stepped out come is it’s giving you the measurement at one point, on a vertical axis, all the way up and down the backbore, like you drew a line from the throat exactly plumb (level) to the end of the backbore. That what the comparator puts out on the screen.

Rest assured the backbores are not cut that way, but at this pint the comparator does and will need more time to fine tune the programming so that a 3d object can be represented on a 1D screen.

Kanstul Comparator Trivia:

The mouthpieces that were first used by Kanstul for the NY Bach and MT V. Bach were all originals furnished by a well known, NY brass instrument collector of not only mouthpieces but of pre and post war Besson and Bach trumpets .

His name is Hal Oringer. Some of you may know the name. He has over 200 Besson trumpets and flugelhorns alone, all with original cases and mouthpiece.
His collection of vintage Bach trumpets is also quite extensive.
Check out dillonmusic.com and go to friends and they have a whole section of pictures of Hal trying trumpets.

Again sorry Mikey and Trickg for beating dead horse. If I went on to long, I apologize.


Larry