TromboneChat

I was browsing ebay last night and saw a 1950s Conn 10h, which the seller claims is a 6h with a Coprion bell. I can name many famous players who have used 6hs, but I can’t think of one who used a 10h. Any idea why? The copper bell and elaborate engraving are very appealing.

The Elkhart Conn 10H is a very nice horn. I have tried several and considered buying one many times. That particular horn on Ebay appears to be in fantastic condition.

When compared to the 6H, the 10H copper bell changes the tone, articulation and projection of the instrument. For me, the tone is darker, the articulations are a bit more covered and it takes a little more work to project. My hypothesis is that many jazz players prefer the 6H because they consider it a more efficient horn.

I have seen/heard the Conn 10H used in jazz combos. Being that these players didn't need their sound to cut through a large group, it seemed like a very effective use of the instrument.

12Hs were used and produced longer than 10Hs. Everyone i know or know of that has a 10H absolutely loves them. 6Hs imo were the flagship horn for Conn from the 50s on (much like 2Bs and Bach 12s). Having made a mutant horn using an 18H coprion bell, tbe coprion responds darker than other materials until you work it, then it brightens up like nothing else.

I owned a 10h for several years. I like the low volume sound of the coprion, but the high volume sound gets a little crazy. The 10h has a bit of a reputation as a quirky horn. One of the Conn model list sites refers to it as "bipolar Uncle Cope" or something like that. The 12h was more popular, but I've never played one.

Of the 6/10/48h family, I prefer the 48h. I've heard that the earlier 48h were a coprion bell with a heavy nickel plate, so it totally recharacterizes the coprion. Dark at low volume but holds its character better at high volume. 48h was/is more popular than the 10h for those reasons.

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 6:11 am Of the 6/10/48h family, I prefer the 48h. I've heard that the earlier 48h were a coprion bell with a heavy nickel plate, so it totally recharacterizes the coprion. Dark at low volume but holds its character better at high volume. 48h was/is more popular than the 10h for those reasons.

I've never played a 10H, but just recently got to try a 48H – it's very nice. Brass slide showing its age, but the bell is great. I was told it's a standard brass bell under the nickel plating, but not sure about that. Anyone know the facts?

Thrawn22 wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 9:43 pm 12Hs were used and produced longer than 10Hs. Everyone i know or know of that has a 10H absolutely loves them. 6Hs imo were the flagship horn for Conn from the 50s on (much like 2Bs and Bach 12s). Having made a mutant horn using an 18H coprion bell, tbe coprion responds darker than other materials until you work it, then it brightens up like nothing else.

I think your timing is backwards... the Coprion was initially the premium offering before being dragged down to the 18H. At least that's what the Old Guy that used to work in Elkhart that had one in the summer band back in the 90s told me. Hey, just because I own parts of what was a prototype 10H that was sold(I hope) out the back door of the factory, seems logical to me. Wish I had bought his full set of Coprion horns when he sold them a few years later.

And yeah, the crazy uncle thing. The tone on those guys can swing WILDLY when pushed. Hard to control, doesn't fit in everywhere. But fun.

Cheers,
Andy

There was also a 5H no?

Bach5G wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 1:25 pm There was also a 5H no?

Which was a high pitch 6H.

Cheers,
Andy

Posaunus wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 10:34 am

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 6:11 am Of the 6/10/48h family, I prefer the 48h. I've heard that the earlier 48h were a coprion bell with a heavy nickel plate, so it totally recharacterizes the coprion. Dark at low volume but holds its character better at high volume. 48h was/is more popular than the 10h for those reasons.

I've never played a 10H, but just recently got to try a 48H – it's very nice. Brass slide showing its age, but the bell is great. I was told it's a standard brass bell under the nickel plating, but not sure about that. Anyone know the facts?

It's actually pretty easy to tell if you got one that is nickel-plated or one that is solid nickel. Stick your head down the bell and if you see brass it's nickel-plated. If it's nickel all the way down the inside of the bell to the tuning slide receiver than it's solid nickel.

My friend was wondering the same thing about his 48h bell and that's how we figured it out.

elmsandr wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 8:16 pm

Bach5G wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 1:25 pm There was also a 5H no?

Which was a high pitch 6H.

Cheers,
Andy

There were 2 different models of 5H:

The original 5H was indeed high pitch, but it was based on the smaller 4H.
The second 5H was introduced at the tail end of Elkhart production and continued at Abilene, and it was in essence a 6H with a lightweight slide. Normal pitch.

Hopefully that clears that up.

For the purpose of this thread I have never seen a 10H.

It was the latter I was wondering about.

mrdeacon wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 8:44 pm

Posaunus wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 10:34 am

It's actually pretty easy to tell if you got one that is nickel-plated or one that is solid nickel. Stick your head down the bell and if you see brass it's nickel-plated. If it's nickel all the way down the inside of the bell to the tuning slide receiver than it's solid nickel.

My friend was wondering the same thing about his 48h bell and that's how we figured it out.

I'm that friend.

Having nothing to do with the 10H, but I have had a couple of 48Hs that you could see the seam of the 2-piece bell as well through the nickel. So, obviously a brass bell. Supposedly some were coprion bells below the nickel plate, so nickel plated 10 bells. I have also head speculation that some bells were brass, copper plated, and nickel plated over that. I am pretty sure all my 48Hs have had brass bells as the base layer at least.

Klimchak wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 5:36 am Having nothing to do with the 10H, but I have had a couple of 48Hs that you could see the seam of the 2-piece bell as well through the nickel. So, obviously a brass bell. Supposedly some were coprion bells below the nickel plate, so nickel plated 10 bells. I have also head speculation that some bells were brass, copper plated, and nickel plated over that. I am pretty sure all my 48Hs have had brass bells as the base layer at least.

I've heard the same thing. Sorta makes you wanna go out and buy as many 48Hs as you can to test the rumor out.