TromboneChat

Hello!!!
Has anyone ‘upgraded’ their thumb paddle/trigger mechanism on a more modern Conn 88H from that flimsy effort to something more ‘substantial’?
If so, what did you do?
And pics please

My trigger mechanism has come unsoldered several times. My tech got a bigger mounting disk and used more solder, which has seemed to fix the issue. Relatively cheap and effective. My 1968 88h has seen a lot of use as a primary horn through high school, college, military band, and a lot of freelancing and community groups.

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:44 am My trigger mechanism has come unsoldered several times. My tech got a bigger mounting disk and used more solder, which has seemed to fix the issue. Relatively cheap and effective. My 1968 88h has seen a lot of use as a primary horn through high school, college, military band, and a lot of freelancing and community groups.

Thanks Hyperbolica.
I was thinking more of the modern 88Hs that have that adjustable thumb paddle with those ting grubber screws that tend to slip and/or work loose and fall out!
Never had a problem with my 1968 Elkhart or any Artist Symphony era instruments!

Hey Pdev,

Any trigger can be installed on any horn. This week, I am installing a Getzen/Edwards lever on a Benge trombone. Last week, I replaced an old Conn lever with a Bach lever. Most replacement projects are very straight forward, but I have seen instruments in which the lever saddle was silver brazed to the brace (some Yamahas were made that way), but there are ways to remove those old levers as well.

My recommendation is that you should figure out what type/brand of lever has the best "feel" for you. Then you can work with your technician and have it custom installed on your Conn. It sounds like you probably want to avoid the adjustable-style levers (you mentioned that your Conn has the adjustable thumb paddle) because those hexagonal screws can slip.

Many players assume they are just stuck with the trigger and action that is on their horn. Actually, there are many things that can be customized on a trigger: spring tension, reduction of wiggle in the lever hinge screw, location of the neutral position (disengaged), throw of the lever (it can be reduced by extending the distance of the arm beyond the fulcrum and the length of the connection from the stop arm), lever to stop arm alignment for maximum efficiency, etc...... A thumb lever can definitely be refined and optimized to help the player.

My tech took the stock linkage and built an adjustable trigger to attach to this thumbrest for myn88HTG. It uses the same set screws as stock Eastlake 88h’s. I had to put a dab of glue on one of them to keep it from loosening. The spalted maple thumbrest is by Kyle Peck. I can easily put the stock paddle back on or adjust this one as needed.
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