TrumpetMaster - View Single Post - Gap, no gap and other mysteries of the pipes

oldlou · 01-15-2008, 06:28 PM

In my extensive,( over forty ), vintage and fairly modern cornets I find none of them that was made with the receiver being anything other than a reinforcement of the leader pipe, with both tubes being flush at the opening. It seems to me that the early designers did this to keep the tapered shank of the mouthpiece from acting as a wedge and swedging the leaderpipe ever larger, which in effect would require ever larger diameter mouthpiece shanks.

My trumpets, conversely, were all made with a seperate receiver tube which is fitted only a short distance over the leader pipe, thus, having a ledge at the end of the leader pipe, which can be found inside of the receiver. I have heard/read more than one reason for this to be, and also many versions of how to attain optimum 'clearance' to that ledge, and also more versions of the benefits of proper clearance and the ills to be discovered with improper clearance.

My former boss and friend/mentor, A.J.'Bill' Johnson was the owner and chief designer at York Band Instruments for over forty years and was probably as knowledgeable as any man alive when I worked in his retail store and I was constantly being barraged by him with more and more of the science and history of brass musical instruments. He explained that the modern trumpet is nothing more than a "miss shapen cornet", with the leader pipe reinforcement not fully seated, thus, allowing a longer and larger O.D. mouthpiece shank, thus gaining some brilliance in tone caused by the altered backbore of the trumpet mouthpiece.

OLDLOU>>

01-15-2008, 06:28 PM	#2 (permalink)
oldlou Mezzo Piano User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Grand Rapids, Mi. Posts: 591	Re: Gap, no gap and other mysteries of the pipes In my extensive,( over forty ), vintage and fairly modern cornets I find none of them that was made with the receiver being anything other than a reinforcement of the leader pipe, with both tubes being flush at the opening. It seems to me that the early designers did this to keep the tapered shank of the mouthpiece from acting as a wedge and swedging the leaderpipe ever larger, which in effect would require ever larger diameter mouthpiece shanks. My trumpets, conversely, were all made with a seperate receiver tube which is fitted only a short distance over the leader pipe, thus, having a ledge at the end of the leader pipe, which can be found inside of the receiver. I have heard/read more than one reason for this to be, and also many versions of how to attain optimum 'clearance' to that ledge, and also more versions of the benefits of proper clearance and the ills to be discovered with improper clearance. My former boss and friend/mentor, A.J.'Bill' Johnson was the owner and chief designer at York Band Instruments for over forty years and was probably as knowledgeable as any man alive when I worked in his retail store and I was constantly being barraged by him with more and more of the science and history of brass musical instruments. He explained that the modern trumpet is nothing more than a "miss shapen cornet", with the leader pipe reinforcement not fully seated, thus, allowing a longer and larger O.D. mouthpiece shank, thus gaining some brilliance in tone caused by the altered backbore of the trumpet mouthpiece. OLDLOU>> __________________ Couturier trumpet York Master Model trumpet York Elite trumpet York Airflow cornet King super 20 Master Model cornet King Liberty trumpet Reynolds Professional cornet Bohm & Meinl professional trumpet Besson 10-10 trumpet with Holton M.F. bell Olds Special cornet Los Angeles B&H Sovereign cornet G.R.Band Instr. cornet Getzen Super Deluxe trumpet and cornet Getzen Deluxe trumpet and cornet Many others no room to list Last edited by oldlou; 01-15-2008 at 06:37 PM.