Conn 71h custom bass vs Kanstul 1662i

[hyperbolica]

I've recently been released from what seemed like a big responsibility that I hadn't asked for. Thus the stream of posts today. Lots of pent up thoughts and a new keyboard combine into a torrent of tbone posts today.

10 years ago or so I bought a Kanstul 1662i (from Irv Karan) blind without having tested the horn first. I got a great price on it. Kanstul made it custom to my order based on their options. The valves were installed incorrectly at the factory, and a few other things meant it was a rocky beginning. I was still new to bass bone. Since then I've bought a bunch of basses trying to out-do the Kanstul, and tried to recruit others to play it so I didn't have to, all without success. So I've slowly learned a few things. I love the music that results from having a bass bone in a quartet and a big band, but I don't want to be the guy pumping the thing. I couldn't find an instrument I loved or even liked more than the 1662i.

Anyway, I had a bass bone playing friend at Ithaca College named Paul Abel. He turned out to be a great brass tech in Rochester, NY. He did some work on some of my horns. Nice work. Paul died at ~60 a couple of years ago. And then one of his frankenhorns showed up on the market. I was tempted and asked a bunch of questions, but waited for the price to come down a bit. Finally, I wound up with the horn.

It turns out to be mostly a 71h with the slide converted to TIS and a second 71h valve added to it inline. The valve wrap is a mix of stuff including some Greenhoe leftovers. The J bend is from a Conn 62h, and the bell is from a 50b. I've got an M/K MV50 leadpipe in it. If you're wondering, it sounds more in the Bach realm than the Conn realm.

I'm still experimenting with mouthpieces in it. Started with DE XB112K8, and I'm down to a SB110J8, and a Curry 1.5D (with a Curry 2D) on order. The Curry Ds are very conical, and get a sound that's very in line with what I want my bass bone playing to sound like.

When I first played this in quartet, it just seemed to blend better with the other instruments than the 1662i. The 1662i had a more foggy sound, which is nice in some situations, but it's not what I want to sound like. The 71h actually blends with the trombones instead of giving a more tuba-ish effect. I've had to back off a lot, because that Curry mouthpiece just barks, but it sounded great.

Next I took it to big band. It actually works better than the 1662i on the more tenor-ish sort of 4th parts, and on the below the staff parts, it's a machine. We have an arrangement of Uptown Funk and the low Ds, Cs and pedal Gs just pop. The horn actually made the part fun to play instead of feeling like pushing a dead mule through the mud.

So at some point you may see a Kanstul 1662i show up in the Classifieds again. I've tried to sell it before (and actually took money for it once, which I refunded). But this 71h custom from Paul Abel is one to keep.

[dbwhitaker]

We have an arrangement of Uptown Funk and the low Ds, Cs and pedal Gs just pop. The horn actually made the part fun to play instead of feeling like pushing a dead mule through the mud.

It's dangerous for me to read things like this because it makes me think my problems are due to the different bass trombones that I've owned (5 of 'em) instead of the missing magical one that I haven't played yet.

[hyperbolica]

It's dangerous for me to read things like this because it makes me think my problems are due to the different bass trombones that I've owned (5 of 'em) instead of the missing magical one that I haven't played yet.

Yeah, that's the dangerous part. I've been through too many horns myself. My problem has probably been that I'm not willing to put enough money into it. I should just buy a 73h or 62h or get a custom M&W. Another part of my problem is that I don't really know what the ultimate solution is going to look like I'm not a bass fanatic, I play because that's where I'm getting opportunities. . .