TromboneChat

I have an L.A. Olds Special (1949). Nice horn but even mouthpieces with a Morse taper won't go in as far as I'd like. i thought of trying out a new lead pipe to open up the horn a bit more. Does anyone make lead pipes that would fit an old Olds like the Special?

I guess it's possible, but you'd need an extension that comes out past the end of the receiver. Later Olds horns had them. There's a nickel ring around 1/4" in length that extends the leadpipe past the end of the .485 tube. A tenor mouthpiece hits .485 pretty far down the taper, so there's no leadpipe that would allow for full insertion and still go all the way into the inner tube.

Better yet to simply get a mouthpiece that fits the undersize Olds receiver.

If you don't like authentic Olds mouthpieces, have a tech (that knows what he's doing) "shave down" the shank of a standard small-shank mouthpiece you want to use. It works!

I've found that my Olds Standard really likes the Olds #3 mouthpiece (that was original equipment with it). I've tried others, but the Olds #3 really just works/sounds the best -- unless you're trying to get your Olds to not sound like an Olds. It sounds like this might be your goal in "opening up the horn" more. Not at all sure that's a good idea.

I'd suggest finding an Olds #3 and sticking with it. They show up in the "for sale" sections of forums or on Ebay with reasonable frequency. The other trick is to buy an old Olds Ambassador in moderate to rough condition just to get the mouthpiece with it. For that approach, check Craigslist or shopgoodwill.com (https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Listings?s ... Prefs=true). Old (especially Fullerton) Ambassadors show up there with alarming regularity.

Thanks for all the comments. Really good advice here
I do have an Olds 3 mp, but I have avoided in the past because I find the rim to be a little small; however, it is the only mp that seems to fit so maybe I should just "get used to it".
For shaving down the shank, who would I contact to have that done?
The lead pipe on the Olds doesn't extend beyond the receiver. It's dead even with the mp receiver, etc. From the sound of it, trying a different lead pipe wouldn't necessarily help with mp insertion depths, etc...

Doug would be able to do it. He also sells shanks for that type of receiver.

Depending on how serious you are about modifying it, it sounds like you could order a new cork barrel (YSL354 maybe?) and put your upper slide in it. I think Allied actually still sells the inner slide too, maybe you could jsut replace those and not risk damaging the slide trying to pull an older leadpipe.

If the Olds special is a 485, which the upper is to my understanding, the Shires pipes are a good fit. There aren't a ton of aftermarket pipes in that size generally speaking. Brassark also makes a King 2B replica that can be flared out to the appropriate bore size. I've put a Shires #2 in quite a few non-Shires horns and each time I've very much liked the results. Can't guarantee it'll work, but if I were in a similar position and wanted to experiment, that's the direction I'd probably take it in. Especially since it's all relatively reversible.

Doug made me a shank for the Olds Recording, which has worked out perfectly. Seems like the Special needs even more of a modified shank....
Sounds like the cork barrel idea might be the way to go

Arrowhead wrote: ↑Fri Jun 15, 2018 3:46 pm [snip]
I do have an Olds 3 mp, but I have avoided in the past because I find the rim to be a little small; however, it is the only mp that seems to fit so maybe I should just "get used to it".
[snip]

Maybe you could send your Olds 3 MP that is the perfect fit to Doug and ask him to replicate the shank?

--Andy in OKC

That's a great idea, thanks!