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Trumpetown
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Joined: 17 Jun 2020
Posts: 69
Location: Las Vegas
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 Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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| plankowner110 wrote: |
A good shop wouldn't have returned the horn to you with valve issues. Old chem clean makes me doubt the quality of service as most top shops now use ultrasonic cleaning machines. Sorry to hear you are still having troubles with a great Conn SS1 trumpet. |
Horn was cleaned with Grenadier Plus according to the paperwork they gave me.
Here is a picture of the valve spring. You can't see it here, but under a magnifying glass, it's discolored and looks unclean.
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Trumpetown
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Joined: 17 Jun 2020
Posts: 69
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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I put in new springs and guides today.
In case anyone is wondering, the Conn SS1 takes Bach Stradivarius springs and guides.
There's a big difference. Still, they're sticking a bit on the way up. Not as bad as before, but it's still an issue.
The real shocker here was looking at the guides that were in my trumpet vs the guides that replaced it.
Either the guides that were in there were completely wrong for my trumpet or they were just really worn down.
Here's a photo of the old guides. Keep in mind, this trumpet had been serviced last week.
Here's a photo of the new guide next to an old one. Difference is unreal.
So now, I'm going to do my best to clean the valves all over again and hope for the best.
This is my last option before sending the trumpet off to someone.
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Trumpetown
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Joined: 17 Jun 2020
Posts: 69
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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Spent all evening cleaning this trumpet.
Didn't work.
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Dayton
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Joined: 24 Mar 2013
Posts: 2046
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 2:00 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | In case anyone is wondering, the Conn SS1 takes Bach Stradivarius springs and guides. |
I'm just going from memory, but I do not recall Bach Strad valve guides being an exact match for the Conn SS1 valve guides. If that is the case, then using the Bach valve guides won't help. You could check with a reputable tech like Charlie Melk, Jim Becker or Steve Winans -- they'd likely know.
Good luck! |
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Trumpetown
Regular Member
Joined: 17 Jun 2020
Posts: 69
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:03 am Post subject: |
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| Dayton wrote: | | Quote: | | In case anyone is wondering, the Conn SS1 takes Bach Stradivarius springs and guides. |
I'm just going from memory, but I do not recall Bach Strad valve guides being an exact match for the Conn SS1 valve guides. If that is the case, then using the Bach valve guides won't help. You could check with a reputable tech like Charlie Melk, Jim Becker or Steve Winans -- they'd likely know.
Good luck! |
They fit brilliantly. They honestly couldn't fit any more perfect and the springs are identical.
Bach was acquired by Conn-Selmer in the early 60's, so it makes sense that the horns would share some parts.
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Trumpetown
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Joined: 17 Jun 2020
Posts: 69
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2020 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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Have to give a big thanks to Tony Scodwell for spending part of his afternoon with me and the SS1 today.
Valves are super fast now and good as new.
He does excellent work and has a very nice shop. One hell of a player too.
If you're in the Vegas area, I highly recommend him.
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James Becker
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Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 2827
Location: Littleton, MA
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2020 4:59 am Post subject: |
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[quote="Trumpetown"] | Dayton wrote: | | Bach was acquired by Conn-Selmer in the early 60's, so it makes sense that the horns would share some parts |
Bach was indeed acquired by Selmer USA in the early 1960’s. However, the Conn Severinsen trumpets were manufactured in the ‘80’s by United Musical Instruments, owned by Danny Henkin. This predates the merger of Conn and Selmer USA. More likely Conn was copying Bach at that time, since Doc was pretty fond of vintage Bach trumpets.
FWIW the mouthpipes for those were designed by non other than Dave Monette.
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James Becker
Brass Repair Specialist Since 1977
Osmun Music Inc.
77 Powdermill Road Rt.62
Acton, MA 01720
www.osmun.com
Our workshop is as close as your nearest UPS store https://www.ups.com/dropoff?loc=en_US |
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Trumpetown
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Posts: 69
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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After exhausting every possible option to get the valves working properly, I finally gave up and sent it to Steve Winans in August for an overhaul.
I just got it back on Saturday and it's absolutely incredible. I can't put it down. The valves are super light, quick, smooth and buttery. I've never flown through scales this fast. Makes my other trumpets seem rather clunky.
I wish I had the range to make this thing really sing, but I don't. It's rather nice from the low F# to C above the staff though.
Steve told me that the Bach guides I put in were a good fit, so he didn't change them. He did mention that the Bach springs seemed a bit too stiff, so he put in the original springs and they work excellent.
He also said that there's a lot of parts on the trumpet that look like Bach parts but are not. Conn had obviously copied a few things from Bach to make it the way Severinsen wanted it.
Anyway, I'm just happy to have it back and also happy that I've got an amazing pro horn that's quite unique and fairly rare. Now I'm on the hunt for an original Conn case that's in better shape that the one that came with the horn. It has a huge gash right across the top.
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