What about the L&Cs? Any advice?
I believe that the L&C Comm IIs were the "finished article". There were some transitional horns that had some characteristics and components of the Comm I so not a "true" Comm II and not with quite the polished sound. Some of these had no engraving or carried the "searchlight" as with the Comm I.
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A Martin will also roar and scream, but will always have that sweetness - the Conn can be as sweet or sour as you want it to be.
Steve, which would you choose between a Buescher 400 TH&C, a Comm II L&C, and a Conn 6M/10M, Alto and Tenor, and why?
How would these compare with a Selmer MkVI for sound and ergonomics?
I would have the 6M alto as it has good ergos and I like the presentation of the tone.
I'd have the Martin tenor for the tone. It's ergos aren't that great, but I'd quickly get fed up with the 1OM going out of adjustment because of the fiddly locking screws. Sure, I could mod it, but it still wouldn't sound as nice as the Martin.
Compared to a MKVI? The Selmer would win on the ergos - that's for sure. Tonewise it's not so clear cut, but my preference for a more contemporary tone would make the Selmer more of a workhorse rather than a 'high days and holidays' horn.
Of course, that's just me - and in the grand scheme of things any of the horns listed can be considered as very good examples of the genre...and the only way to tell which is best for you is for you to play them...and never mind what anyone else says.
I would add, too, that I'd drop any of them in a flash for a Yamaha 62 alto and a TJ RAW tenor. And that's exactly what I've done.
Is your 62 a MkI? I'm perfectly happy with my Buffet 400 Alto, but haven't played a 62 or MkVI. Have you come across a Buffet 400 yet?
Just in the process of restoring the Grassi 2000 Professional, as you may have seen (thanks to your Haynes manual for how to get the needle springs out - I used a mole grip and hammer - only one post slightly moved! It pulled back fine!!). I'm guessing you'd say any of the previously mentioned tenors would blow it away. But there are many reviews saying it matches a MkVI. Are these all from Italians?
Yes, I read all the sections on spring removal the night before I wielded the hammer. Then for some reason I only associated moving pillars with using a punch! This tall pillar had a thick needle spring which wasn't budging, hence the pillar moved slightly as I was belting it!...It's a MkI - though for no other reason than that was the current model when I bought it.
Did you read the bit about supporting the pillar when using some of the more advanced spring-removal techniques?
As you've found out, you can move a pillar with relative ease if you're not careful.
I've not been that blown away by any of the Grassi horns I've tried - but then it hasn't been many. I tend to think if a horn is that good it would at least pop above the radar rather more often that the Grassi does (i.e. the Couesnons and the Pierrets etc. often turn up on the forums).
But who knows? If a good example turns up on the workbench I might find myself having lots of nice things to say about it (which is not gonna be the case for the Vibratosax that's currently 'under the spotlight').
Yes, I read all the sections on spring removal the night before I wielded the hammer. Then for some reason I only associated moving pillars with using a punch! This tall pillar had a thick needle spring which wasn't budging, hence the pillar moved slightly as I was belting it!...
I used some more Plus Gas (thanks again for the tip to get this Steve), applied with a cocktail stick to both sides of the pillar, then rotated the spring about its axis with the mole grip to loosen it. One light tap with the hammer and it was out. I then used the G# key/rod, which fits between this post and the next, to measure how much it had moved and carefully applied pressure to the moved post with padded pliers until it was back in its original position with no play in the rod. Sorted! No dent to the body thankfully, but a lesson learned.
You covered it in S.1 of spring removal, and again in S.7 & S.8. Just slipped my mind in the heat of the moment!A lucky escape! I'll have a look at what I wrote and maybe add in a little bit about using anything else to knock a spring out.
I would avoid rotating the spring because the flattened end will act like a reamer if it turns. It's also more likely to snap off inside the pillar, which can add another level of arsing about when it comes to removing the spring.
Incidentally, the shock spray stuff works quite well for stuck springs.
I'm glad you didn't shift the pillar too much - it's in an awkward place, and if it gets driven into the body there's a chance it might pull one of the adjacent tone holes out of level.
I wouldn't bother retaining the springs/corks etc. - it's rare that anyone would use them for a reference.
To satisfy my own curiosity , is there any advantage to replacing springs that aren't broken?
more than any womanYou and your blooming "purple 62"!!!! You love it!!
You covered it in S.1 of spring removal, and again in S.7 & S.8. Just slipped my mind in the heat of the moment!
I did think about the "reaming" effect and rotated only about 5-10 degrees and back again, so more of a "jiggle" to avoid any damage to the spring hole rear.
By the way, I tried pliers first per S.2 but found the jaws would just slide down the spring toward the pillar and in danger of hitting it. That's because the power of the hammer striking the pliers exceeds my strength gripping the pliers tight. That's when I used the mole grips which alleviated that problem. So long as the spring fits along one of the small grooves in the very end of the mole grips there's little chance on snapping it when applying the locking pressure. I guess this has the knock-on effect of mutiplying the force transferred to the pillar, as I found out, so I'd recommend applying some unlocking fluid first then using a sharp but gentle tap.
Anyway.... how about the Buffet 400? Tried one yet?
To satisfy my own curiosity , is there any advantage to replacing springs that aren't broken?