CONN 88HTCL

[BflatBass]

Anyone play/own one of these? Just curious about the valve. I just learned about it via an ebay ad.
Anything unique about the valve internally or is it just the size?

Cheers,
Robert

[Matt K]

Yeah it isn't just a 'regular' rotor:
https://www.bmarwell.de/en/interests/mu ... scription/

Basically it has a "Y" and a "C" shape whereas most rotors are two "C" shapes. Some people seem to like them, I've never been a tremendous fan and I've known a number of people who have had issues with the valves over the years but I know others who have had good luck, particularly if they were dilignt about cleaning etc.

[Posaunus]

Robert,

The "CL2000" can be a wonderful valve, if properly adjusted and maintained. If you like the Conn 88H, you may love it with a "CL" valve. I've heard some of the early models had problems, but they were solved (by changing from aluminum to brass, I believe). Once I got mine properly tweaked, I became a fan. It's now pretty much permanently dialed in.

https://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/instr ... nes/88htcl

To my surprise, I found that this trombone also works well with the much-maligned (often unjustifiably) Christian Lindberg mouthpieces (5CL, 4CL, 2CL) - perhaps not for everybody, but the 5CL and 4CL work for me. Apparently, these mouthpieces are no longer made (at least not listed on the Conn-Selmer Website).

See: http://www.tarrodi.se/cl/index.asp?show=9

[BeardedPicc]

Has anyone had experience with this in both the standard and thin bell configurations? I'm interested if the larger valve plays well with the T bell or if balances best with the thicker, standard, bell.

[castrubone]

I've tried every option for the CL valve...they all work and are viable, so it's really a personal preference of what feels best. Having said that, generally speaking:

-Thin bell: will give you a little more room to change the sound, slightly more open feel
-Standard heavier bell: more solid sound with lots of core, more resistance, more decibels than "T" bell
-Silver bell: More projection, dark fundamental, quick response, clearer artics
-Yellow bell: more projection, slightly brighter sound but very stable

All of that without even getting into the different weighted valve caps! The trick is trying to find all of the varieties offered in stock to figure out what works best for you. Good luck!

[BflatBass]

Yeah it isn't just a 'regular' rotor:
https://www.bmarwell.de/en/interests/mu ... scription/

Basically it has a "Y" and a "C" shape whereas most rotors are two "C" shapes. Some people seem to like them, I've never been a tremendous fan and I've known a number of people who have had issues with the valves over the years but I know others who have had good luck, particularly if they were dilignt about cleaning etc.

Great stuff! Thanks.
Learning about even more valves that I didn't know about.
Too bad the Bassposausen.de site is in German. All the diagrams are really useful though.

And here's the one I found on ebay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/C-G-CONN-88HTC ... %7Ciid%3A1

Cheers,
Robert

[castrubone]

Robert,

The "CL2000" can be a wonderful valve, if properly adjusted and maintained. If you like the Conn 88H, you may love it with a "CL" valve. I've heard some of the early models had problems, but they were solved (by changing from aluminum to brass, I believe). Once I got mine properly tweaked, I became a fan. It's now pretty much permanently dialed in.

https://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/instr ... nes/88htcl

To my surprise, I found that this trombone also works well with the much-maligned (often unjustifiably) Christian Lindberg mouthpieces (5CL, 4CL, 2CL) - perhaps not for everybody, but the 5CL and 4CL work for me. Apparently, these mouthpieces are no longer made (at least not listed on the Conn-Selmer Website).

See: http://www.tarrodi.se/cl/index.asp?show=9

They still make the Lindberg mouthpieces. Hickey's, Dillon's, etc. sell them. The C-S website doesn't have much info about any mouthpieces they make for some reason.

[Matt K]

$2300 seems a little steep for a non-botique tenor, even with f attachment. I sold a Shires w/ Thayer not too long ago for around the same price. But it looks like otherwise it would be fine.

To my surprise, I found that this trombone also works well with the much-maligned (often unjustifiably) Christian Lindberg mouthpieces (5CL, 4CL, 2CL) - perhaps not for everybody, but the 5CL and 4CL work for me. Apparently, these mouthpieces are no longer made (at least not listed on the Conn-Selmer Website).

I don't tend to see much criticism of the Lindberg pieces other than a lot of people, including myself, tend to find that they either are a really great fit or horrible for you and there isn't much in between whereas a lot of pieces (particularly the Bach) are often at least 'okay' for a large swath of players.

They have a relatively niche use case too. They are very shallow but with a large throat; the 'equivalent' Elliott configuration for a 5CL would be something like an LT101N4R, D, D9. I doubt he's ever even made a rim like that, it would be an extra narrow, round rim with a really shallow cup (shallower than the 6.5AL) and a relatively large throat. I actually have one threaded for Doug's rims. It kind of works well for solo stuff for me. Actually, it does work pretty well for commercial stuff if I'm playing on a large bore but that's a really niche thing and I tend to prefer something a little deeper (at least an E cup) for that.

But if you do like that, there's little else out there that would satisfy your needs. Especially in a stock mouthpiece.

[harrisonreed]

I love my 88HTCL. Would really love to try an HYCL, now that I am an Edwards convert.

I also would love to try the progenitor (well, a copy thereof) of the CL valve, originally designed by Minick. You can find it on Noah Gladstone's reinterpreted 88H on brass ark.