Olds small shank receiver

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kingtempo504
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Olds small shank receiver

Post by kingtempo504 »

Hey yall quick question. I want to know if i buy an olds super from 1949. Will a regular standard size small shank mouthpiece work?
Please help. I don't want to spend $800 and i can't use my mouthpiece. Thanks
Posaunus
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Re: Olds small shank receiver

Post by Posaunus »

The Olds tenor trombones of that era had different, and slightly "undersized" mouthpiece receivers.
A "regular standard size small shank mouthpiece" has a slightly larger shank, with a slightly different taper. It will fit into the Olds receiver, but won't slide in as far as authentic Olds mouthpiece, which may bother you.

The mouthpiece originally supplied with an Olds Super was an Olds 3. [The cup is about the same diameter as a Bach 12C, but has a different shape, so plays a little differently.] They are a little small for some trombonists. There is also a larger Olds 1 mouthpiece with the same shank. These are often available on TromboneChat or eBay at modest prices. It's also possible to "shave down" the shank of a "standard" mouthpiece, but you'd better know what you're doing to try that.

Bottom line: You can use your standard mouthpiece, but you may want to experiment.
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BrerCottonmouth
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Re: Olds small shank receiver

Post by BrerCottonmouth »

What Posaunus says is right. I have several Olds horns of that era, and several mouthpieces: Olds, King, Yamaha, Bach, etc. All my mpcs work in my Olds, but none but the Olds slide in that last 1/2" or so. I've come to prefer Olds-brand mpcs in Olds horns, but they're not hard to find. I just received an Olds 8 today that I bought of a fellow forum member for $15. So they're out there and they don't go for big bucks (unless you want one of the old ivory-rimmed ones ...). I love my Olds horns and sure wouldn't let the fact that I might have to look for an Olds mpc discourage me from a purchase.
That said, I haven't been keeping up with prices. Though $800 still seems like a very reasonable tag for a well made pro horn—and a great jazz horn—that's way more than I paid for either of my Supers 10–12 years ago. So I'm wondering—what do LA Supers go for these days?
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JohnL
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Re: Olds small shank receiver

Post by JohnL »

I'd consider $800 to be at the upper end for an LA Super, but not unreasonable if the horn is in very good shape. Unfortunately, there are some things you cannot check when buying a horn online; I've seen instruments that looked very well cared for but the inside of the upper inner slide looked like there'd been termites working on it. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Rare variants command higher prices, of course, but you're looking at a normal Super, right? Note that a yellow tone ring is NOT a rare variant - they were standard production in the 17,xxx-20,xxx serial range.

Some people can use a standard mouthpiece in an Olds tenor, some can't. Ya gotta try it. On the plus side, Doug Elliott can fix you up with something at a pretty reasonable cost.
kingtempo504
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Re: Olds small shank receiver

Post by kingtempo504 »

Thanks for the responses. I just thought of something. I already have a 1977 special with a normal receiver. Same bore size as the super. Will the super outer slide fit on the special inners?
Posaunus
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Re: Olds small shank receiver

Post by Posaunus »

kingtempo504 wrote: Thu Apr 23, 2020 1:06 pm Thanks for the responses. I just thought of something. I already have a 1977 special with a normal receiver. Same bore size as the super. Will the super outer slide fit on the special inners?
Interesting question – John L will probably know the answer. Both are dual bore (0.485"/0.500"); the Special had cylindrical inner slides, whereas the 1949 Super had "duo-octagonal" (16-sided) inner slides. So you could probably use the "normal receiver" Special inner slide with the Super outer? But at that point, what have you gained? A different bell with tone ring (one of the "charms" of the Super), but without the duo-octagonal slide (the Super's other major charm). For $800? Better, I think, to find (or adapt) a mouthpiece that fits the smaller Olds receiver – or just accept that the mouthpiece won't slide in as far, as I do on my Olds Studio, and enjoy playing your prized new possession.
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JohnL
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Re: Olds small shank receiver

Post by JohnL »

kingtempo504 wrote: Thu Apr 23, 2020 1:06 pm Thanks for the responses. I just thought of something. I already have a 1977 special with a normal receiver. Same bore size as the super. Will the super outer slide fit on the special inners?
There are rumors of Specials from that era with single-bore slides toward the end, so check that first.

Assuming that it's the same bore, yes the stockings would be the same size - but it would probably required some adjustment to fit the Super outer slide onto the Special inner slide. Olds was pretty consistent, but not that consistent.
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