Ross Taylor wrote: "(1) Due to a modest inheritance from a comfortable, rather than rich, uncle, I have the funds to buy a leadpipe. I play a 1968 Conn 8D. Once in the past, about 8 years ago, for about a week I played another Conn 8D with a Lawson leadpipe and found that my accuracy was much better than with my horn <snip>"
Good accuracy is fundamentally (pun intended) matching the note or partial you hear in your head to the note or partial you play on the horn. No ear=no note. Good ear and wacky harmonics of the instrument itself=trouble but sometimes managable. Wacky ear and good harmonics on the instrument=bad technique-usually breathing and embouchure tension. Which catagory you are in is beyond deciphering on an internet forum. If you are positive it isn't some personal technique issue then read further. Otherwise go get some lessons with a pro player. The first thing you should do if you are serious-even if you have had your valves replated or bearing tightened-is send your horn for an evaluation with a specialist like Osmun or Pope or Atkinson or Patterson or Chuck McAlister or any of the elite guys I didn't mention. There are things that can affect the horn like solder blobs, misaligned slides, tension in the bracing, etc that can cause the harmonics to not line up properly. Also, the venturi could have been reamed incorrectly at the factory causing more problems than one might imagine. In fact, Conn was sort of notoriously lax on that particular issue for a while. In the US, there are only about four or five people I would let try to reset the venturi but it would be a darn sight cheaper than either a new horn or a new mouthpipe. A good 8d pipe is a nice sounding pipe. Is yours a good one? I can't tell from here. Lawson mouthpipes are very good pieces of gear but again a good stock 8d mouthpipe is more than adequate. If the existing mouthpipe is undamaged and the venturi is correctly set then it is entirely likely that you will not notice any change in "accuracy" by switching to a Lawson pipe. If the mouthpipe is damaged then you might indeed notice a large improvement...but that would be true no matter the which brand quality mouthpipe were used though again Lawson pipes work very well on 8d's. Basically I would have a goal in mind for a specific harmonic or aural change before I changed the mouthpipe unless it is a repair issue. These are my opinions and YMMV. Dealer dock fees may apply. Not valid with other offers. Caveat lector. The Jack Attack! _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
