TromboneChat

I've acquired a late-60's Olds Studio that comes with the smaller Olds mouthpiece taper. It came with a Bach 12C which was clearly used by the previous owner.

As far as I can tell my option are:

1. Acquire a Olds mouthpiece (I have a beat up one coming from eBay)
2. Have the receiver reamed out (looking into it; first shop was pretty skeptical)
3. Have a custom mouthpiece fabricated (from Doug Elliot or somewhere else)
4. Use standard shank mouthpieces despite not fitting perfectly.

I only have the standard size small shank mouthpieces right now, and I'd rather be able to reuse them if possible. I measure 20mm insertion depth for standard mouthpieces in the horn, compared with 26.5mm insertion in a standard receiver. What non-obvious consequences are there of playing that way? (I'm aware of the obvious one of the intonation being slightly flat)

Thanks!

Check to see how badly out of tune the partials are with each other.

I have a 1925 Olds LM that I have used with a standard Bach 4C for years with no ill effects.

The factory-original mouthpiece was an Olds 3. Small but works pretty well in an Olds Studio. You may prefer an Olds 1 mouthpiece (slightly larger, same shank) which also fits the Olds receiver perfectly. Both often readily available used and not beat up. I think the proper shank works much better.

mikeklaas wrote: ↑Wed Oct 16, 2024 3:26 pm As far as I can tell my option are:

1. Acquire a Olds mouthpiece (I have a beat up one coming from eBay)
2. Have the receiver reamed out (looking into it; first shop was pretty skeptical)
3. Have a custom mouthpiece fabricated (from Doug Elliot or somewhere else)
4. Use standard shank mouthpieces despite not fitting perfectly.

Thanks!

5. Have a machine shop turn the shank of a Morse small-shank mouthpiece down to match the Olds shank.

That's doable once you have an Olds mouthpiece for them to measure. It's also a better option than having the mouthpiece receiver reamed out.

2a. Replace the leadpipe with one set up for a standard Morse small shank. Pulling the leadpipe and having it worked on is probably a better option than trying to use a reamer on it in situ.

The answer is: it depends.

Some people use standard shank mouthpieces in Olds receivers with no problems, others report issues. Try it for a while and see how it works for you.

Hi Mikeklaas.

In my opinion , the best thing would be to have a custom mpc made by Doug Elliott ; so you can choose a size that works for you , having a shank that fits perfectly the horn . This way you do not have to make any modifications to the receiver/ leadpipe etc , which could also change the horn' s response for the worse ...

Regards
Giancarlo

Thanks all. I'll give it a try once I have the Olds 3 to compare with—and keep an eye out for an Olds 1.