Bach 39

[heinzgries]

whats the weight of an Bach 39 alto?

[nebtrombone]

I don't know the weight, but I have a 39G and the bell is lighter than the standard 39.

[tbonesullivan]

I just weighed mine, and it came to 902 grams. It is one from the 70s, with oversleeves on the nickel silver outer slide.

[heinzgries]

I just weighed mine, and it came to 902 grams. It is one from the 70s, with oversleeves on the nickel silver outer slide.

thanks

[heinzgries]

i have bought now a Bach 39 on ebay. The slide position on it are different comparsing to my other altos.
For example the 4th position is far away from the bell. What mouthpiece is the best for a good intonation on a Bach 39?

[Matt K]

i have bought now a Bach 39 on ebay. The slide position on it are different comparsing to my other altos.
For example the 4th position is far away from the bell. What mouthpiece is the best for a good intonation on a Bach 39?

When I played a 39 in college, I used an XT104N/XT C/CAlto. That was right around the time I switched to Doug's setup; prior to that I tried a few Bach pieces... 12C, 7C, 6.5AL and Dougs definitely had the best intonation for me. But it also was fixing a number of other issues I had at the same time.

[BGuttman]

Originally they came with a 12EW (wide rim, quite shallow).

[tbonesullivan]

i have bought now a Bach 39 on ebay. The slide position on it are different comparsing to my other altos.
For example the 4th position is far away from the bell. What mouthpiece is the best for a good intonation on a Bach 39?

The positions are the same. The bell is in a different place. Learn to find positions without the bell, and there's no problem. The bell is a crutch. Use muscle memory and your ears. It should work fine with a 12C, which is what they come with now. I also like the 7C.

[imsevimse]

My Bach 39 Alto from early 1980ies came with a Bach 15E. It is a bit on the small side for me so I ordered a Bach 12E and that is a very good alto mouthpiece. That is if you can play that size of rim. A Yamaha 48A can work if you need bigger. The Bach C-cups does not work very well for alto for me even though I've heard pros say they use Bach 7C's and bigger. The ones I've heard get a sound more close to a small tenor with such a mouthpiece and that's not what I want. I want a more shallow cup to get the sound I want and I don't want my alto to sound like a tenor. I want an alto sound to be is between the trumpet and a small bore tenor trombone sound. My ideal alto sound is the sound of Branimir Slokar. The Bach 39 helps to get that lighter sound compared to other altos I've tried.

/Tom

[imsevimse]

Originally they came with a 12EW (wide rim, quite shallow).

Where can I find a 12EW. It sounds like the mouthpiece I need to try? I have never heard of it before.

/Tom

[tbonesullivan]

Where can I find a 12EW. It sounds like the mouthpiece I need to try? I have never heard of it before.

/Tom

I would just try the 12E. The 12EW isn't even in the Bach Mouthpiece manual anymore, so it is most likely discontinued.

[imsevimse]

Where can I find a 12EW. It sounds like the mouthpiece I need to try? I have never heard of it before.

/Tom

I would just try the 12E. The 12EW isn't even in the Bach Mouthpiece manual anymore, so it is most likely discontinued.

Maybe Doug knows about this: Has it ever been a Bach 12EW?

I have searched the net and never heard of it. There is a Bach 12CW, and that is a mouthpiece with extra wide rim bu it is a trumpet mouthpiece. Thats the closest I get. Now when I search I find the Bach 39 comes with a Bach 12E mouthpiece. I know when I bought my Bach 39 alto in the early 1980ies it came with a Bach 15E.

If anybody heard about a Bach 11E for Alto I think that would be a mouthpiece I'd like.

/Tom

[heinzgries]

The best tuning result on my Bach 39 is when i am playing with the tuning slide all the way in and use a
custom made Klier mouthpiece with a long shank with a shallow cup (25,4 mm diameter) and the throat 5,6 mm

[JohnL]

The positions are the same. The bell is in a different place. Learn to find positions without the bell, and there's no problem. The bell is a crutch. Use muscle memory and your ears.

One thing that can help with this is playing scales with your eyes closed. Actually, anything you can play from memory will do.

[BillO]

Ugh! Bad memories here. Mine, bought circa 1992, came with a 12E.

[nebtrombone]

I have always played a Bach 9 on my 39 alto. It's a great fit.

[MikeS]

I used a Laskey 42B before I went to an Elliott setup. Now I use an XT C+ cup, XT 101 rim and D alto backbore. I also have a very small Cather 22.5 that I use if I want a really light alto sound.