Copper bell hoarding

[Hobart]

Alrighty, so, I recently acquired one of the Reynolds "tangerine" basses, because I needed a bass.
I also have an 18H director I'm happy with.

Now, I've always had a thing for copper bells. Besides the Blessing B-8, B78, and B-88, and the Conn 10H and 12H, are there any other production-line sort of trombones that have copper bells I should know about?

I'd like to find more, maybe accumulate one of each big model with them, but I don't want to cough up for like, a Kanstul or Shires or anything, at least not yet.

[BGuttman]

There was a Conn 76H with a copper (Coprion) bell.

Are you distinguishing between high copper brass (Red Brass) and pure copper? As far as I know, only Conn made pure copper bells, and they only did for smaller horns. The process they used was called Electroforming, which they called Coprion. This is where you use a copper plating bath to build the entire thickness of the bell, as opposed to a thin electroplating on a substrate like the silver on a mouthpiece. Most instruments have bells made up from sheet metal of various alloys. I suspect Conn never started making larger Coprion bells because of the difficulty of creating the mandrels on which they needed to be plated.

Red Brass (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Bronze) is an alloy of 90% copper and 10% zinc. This was the Reynolds "bronz-o-lyte". Most red bells are this alloy. I know of some Conn 88H trombones with red brass bells as well.

There are other copper-rich brasses: Gold Brass is 80% copper and Rose Brass is 85% copper. Normal yellow brass is somewhere between 65% and 70% copper.

[bellend]

Kanstul used to make this horn with a copper bell.

http://www.kanstul.com/instruments/trom ... -trombone/

Also , Rath used to offer copper bells so you might find the odd used one one floating about.

BellEnd

[Hobart]

There was a Conn 76H with a copper (Coprion) bell.

Are you distinguishing between high copper brass (Red Brass) and pure copper? As far as I know, only Conn made pure copper bells, and they only did for smaller horns. The process they used was called Electroforming, which they called Coprion. This is where you use a copper plating bath to build the entire thickness of the bell, as opposed to a thin electroplating on a substrate like the silver on a mouthpiece. Most instruments have bells made up from sheet metal of various alloys. I suspect Conn never started making larger Coprion bells because of the difficulty of creating the mandrels on which they needed to be plated.

Red Brass (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Bronze) is an alloy of 90% copper and 10% zinc. This was the Reynolds "bronz-o-lyte". Most red bells are this alloy. I know of some Conn 88H trombones with red brass bells as well.

There are other copper-rich brasses: Gold Brass is 80% copper and Rose Brass is 85% copper. Normal yellow brass is somewhere between 65% and 70% copper.

I'm looking for anything tangerine, not red brass but that orange sort of Coprion color. I'm not sure if they're electroformed but I'm looking for things that are generally the color of an 18H. I'm not sure if it's a different alloy, I heard it was somewhere, but anything which is that vibrant orange color is on my hit list.

EDIT: Do you have any pictures of the 76H? I can't find it on the loyalist, is it just the century model with a copper bell?

[BGuttman]

...

EDIT: Do you have any pictures of the 76H? I can't find it on the loyalist, is it just the century model with a copper bell?

I play tested one many years ago. It was probably a Century with a Coprion bell.

Note that old King lacquer used to get kinda orange as well. Even over brass bells.

[greenbean]

I also have a Reynolds "Tangerine" bass. The bell is copper, not brass. Very soft, dents easily, looks great, and a lot of fun to play.

[baileyman]

Mount Vernon Bachs with red brass bells were remarkably red. But bucks.