6 1/2 A on a Conn 88H ?

[NotATrumpet]

I've been reading through older postings regarding the Conn 88H and mouthpieces. I came across a comment along the lines of - "maybe a Bach 6 1/2 A is more suited to the Conn 88H because it's a better match for the leadpipe". - Can anyone expand on that theory or dismiss it and why ?

[hyperbolica]

I'm not an expert on anything, but I've played an 88h since 1975, playing pro for a few years in there. I consider a 5g the base for 88h playing. That's what comes with new 8/88s last time I bought one. 6.5 can be had as large bore, but it's typically sold as a small bore. You can get a large to small adapter for 88h, but to me that just means the 6.5 mouthpieces really weren't intended for 88h or large bore horns in general.

The leadpipe is kind of a weird measure since you can get new 88h from the factory with 5 different slide sizes, and at least half a dozen pipes. so there's not really a standard. And if you still have the Remington pipe in your Elkie, well, that's your fault.

I played a Remington mouthpiece when I had a Remington taper pipe in my 88h, but that was before 1980. Remington is listed on Doug's mouthpiece chart as about the same size as a 5g. Since then I've played at least a Bach 5g, and up to a Schilke 52e2. In DE sizes, I play F or G with 88h with the 547 slide and E when I use 525 slide. Just for reference, Doug's chart says a 6.5 is a C cup, which seems a little small. I would say 6.5al is about right for 522/525 slides.

Anyway, it probably depends on your skills and what you want to do with it, but for general use, I'd recommend a 5g for 88h, and only use a 6.5 size in a special situation (although I can't think of one where I'd actually do that). Be careful of what you read on the internet, even (maybe especially) here. Everyone has an opinion and some odd way of backing it up.

[JohnL]

"maybe a Bach 6 1/2 A is more suited to the Conn 88H because it's a better match for the leadpipe"

A better match than what?

If you're comparing a 6½A to a 6½AL, then yes, the 6½A's throat and backbore are probably a better match for an 88H.

In the Bach world, the large shank 6½AL and the small shank 6½AL both have a .261"/6.63mm ("G") throat and a #420 backbore. That's pretty big for a small shank and on the small side for a large shank (resulting in a notably thick shank wall on the large shank version). On the other hand, a 6½A large shank has a standard large shank throat (.276"/7.00mm) and backbore (#429).

[Doug Elliott]

My D+ cup is approximately the depth of a 6-1/2AL cup.

That depth can work for some players, but it's far from ideal for most. Same for the 6-1/2 rim size, my 100 (1 inch). Good for some players but not most.

[NotATrumpet]

I have to say I've no idea what the person meant by that remark about matching leadpipe. Out of curiosity I did try a 6 1/2 in my Conn for 5 minutes today and it wasn't nice. So no reason to change the 5G.

[WGWTR180]

Before I switched to a Doug Elliott piece I used a 5G. FWIW