In 2005 Zig Kanstul mentioned that had
received some requests for a trombone in the style of some old Conn's and he
was almost finished with the tooling. He had some common parts from his 1570
and 1662 trombones, and a new bell mandrel, and was finishing tooling for a
new tuning slide.
The results of this project include four new trombones, all based on the
same model, but with several options. All four feature an 8.5" one-piece
bell made out of lightweight .020" bronze sheet. This would be a similar
weight bell to a very light vintage Conn 8H, but this one-piece bell has no
seam between bell stem and flare, making for a more even thickness. The
.547" large bore slides are a medium width for a comfortable grip by medium
size hands, and the outer tubes are bronze with extra thin nickel sleeves.
There is a limited availability of wide slides for those who prefer them.
The slides feature three removable leadpipes, modeled after some vintage
pipes made by Vincent Bach and Larry Minick.
I said, "As long as you're making a tuning
slide mandrel, you might as well make it long enough to do a one-piece bell
branch." That would allow the option of no tuning slide in the bell section,
for a perfectly conical expansion of the horn. He had already made some
.547" bore slides for the 1662 bass, and those would fit right onto this new
tenor trombone bell section.
Here's where the one-piece bell branch
comes in. This limited production horn is akin to the 1588, but the tuning
mechanism is located in the hand slide. The result is a beautifully
minimalist bell section: totally conical, all bronze, lightly braced.
There's hardly anything to it. Yes, it makes the slide a bit heavier, but
not as much as you might think. The weight has really been pared down to
compensate for the extra hardware. This horn plays like a bigger instrument
than you would expect, and has a super velvety smooth sound.
This 1688 model comes from adding the
Kanstul CR valve F-attachment to the slide tuning 1608, and then you get my
favorite model. This horn has the biggest sound and best projection, and it
balances well for user comfort. I like how this 1688 looks like the smaller
cousin of the Kanstul 1670 George Roberts bass trombone. The sleek curves of
the conical bell section and the matching curves of the F-attachment tubing
just send me. This is such a rare, beautiful instrument; I can hardly stop
looking at it. The right buyer for this horn doesn't care how it plays, nor
does he care if he wins an audition on it. He's just so taken with the
artful design and the comfort and peace from holding it in his hand, he
simply has to have it. He knows that every day is an audition, and if this
instrument inspires him to make music, then it is more than worth the money.
This 1688 is one of my favorite instruments in the store to play. Several of
the top players in the LA symphony and opera scene have really been floored
by it. It's a magical instrument. Production is very limited. Less than a
dozen have been made as I write this.
Also available as the 1608 with no F attachment.
This horn can also be had with bell tuning, as the
model 1588. This horn is custom built in
4-8 weeks.
