Yamaha 653 vs 695 or Conn 6h?

[Aznguyy]

Anyone play on both horns before? How do they compare?

[Aznguyy]

Not a lot of response on this... Let's try this again.

Would it be fair to say that the 653 is a copy of a Conn 6H? or is it it's own entity? Similarities? differences?

I have a 653 that I pulled out of the storage recently and it plays really well for my needs. I played big band lead on it last week and it just has a little more sizzle than my regular horn that I like. Coming from a 508 horn, the 500 bores locks in a little better for me so I want to explore to see if there is anything else out there to check out.

[hyperbolica]

I played a 651 and the whole 6h family (6h, 10h, 48h, 38h, 24h, etc...)

I just didn't like the old small Yamahas much. They were "fine", but I think they lacked something in personality, especially compared to the 6h. 6h is the gold standard of 500 bores, and has tons of personality. I would say the Yamaha is somewhat heavier, and doesn't seem to have the light resonance that the 6h has.

[OneTon]

I played a 653 on big band lead for many years until the slide most probably succumbed to red rot. I got a good deal on a 697 and played it for several years. When the 697 slide got temperamental, I got a hold of a King 2B. The 697 is closer to a 2B than a 653 is to a 6H. The 2B will respond favorably at lower dynamics with more color and depth than the 697. The difference is almost within the difference between two horns built on the same line in the same time frame: Not much.

To me, a 653 has more depth of color and versatility than a 6H. The 6H may slot a little better and is very even across the range. 653 trombones have their own click of dedicated followers but it is much smaller than the venerated 6H. I subsequently fell on to a replacement slide for my 653 so it is back in business. Years ago I heard Butch Genest play circles around Maynard Ferguson’s lead trombone player for Bop Nouveau. Butch was playing on a 6H and the Maynard’s lead was on a 2B. Maynard’s player was very good natured about it. Both were good players and both were good horns.

Shires can build a very good clone of a 6H as does Schilke which may actually be Greenhoe now. Doug Bert at Brass Exchange is a good dealer. People who play Bach 12’s don’t turn loose of them very often and they sound good. The King 2B+ is a 0.500 bore horn. Schmelzer builds a good 0.500 bore horn as does Kuhn and Hoyer under the Bart van Lier series. Go to the Brass Exchange to see the range of past 0.500 bore production. The Williams 6 is often touted as the quintessential 0.500 horn.

[Digidog]

I played a 695 for many years, and the slide developed the worst case of red rot (or Yamaha plague as we say (said?) in Sweden) I've ever seen - before or after. It developed very quickly, out of seemingly normal metal, and it rapidly got so bad that I suspected it to leak just below the water key. Subsequently I sold it.

It was a really nice horn, though. Smooth playing, with a defined tone, great flexibility, easy to get playing and easy to keep in the reins at louder dynamics. The slotting wasn't very pronounced, so for me the horn choked out on me in the upper register (above D-Eb) as I seem to do on most small bore Yamahas.

Besides the rampant red rot I would recommend a 695, if you want that loose slotting, easy dynamics and slightly mellow tone it produces - that at least I got. When it's pushed the tone broadens and gets somewhat dark, only to then break up.