TromboneChat

What is the meaning of the star ★ in some DE cups?

Fancier than a cup without the star.

I think that’s when he updated his designs? I do not know for sure thoufh

AFAIK, the outer shape has the weight distributed slightly differently. The year determines the update so sometime last year(?) he updated the inner shape a little. I've actually not tried his * cups but I've tried his * shanks and some are unbelievable. The * on the shank denotes it's a new taper. Doug is here so he can provide a canonical answer, of course.

On cups, the star indicates a slightly heavier blank than the previous ones with no star. It only applies to F and deeper. I think the shallower cups are good the way they are so I didn't add any weight to them.

On shanks, the star indicates a new backbore design from this year. During this pandemic I've been doing a lot of R&D.

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:08 pm On cups, the star indicates a slightly heavier blank than the previous ones with no star. It only applies to F and deeper. I think the shallower cups are good the way they are so I didn't add any weight to them.

On shanks, the star indicates a new backbore design from this year. During this pandemic I've been doing a lot of R&D.

Did you make a * version of the C alto S shank?

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:08 pm On cups, the star indicates a slightly heavier blank than the previous ones with no star. It only applies to F and deeper. I think the shallower cups are good the way they are so I didn't add any weight to them.

On shanks, the star indicates a new backbore design from this year. During this pandemic I've been doing a lot of R&D.

Thanks for the reply, btw can a heavier cup affect the endurance? I tried some bach megatone in the past and I felt
I had less endurance in these mpcs

Tbone00 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:37 pm
Thanks for the reply, btw can a heavier cup affect the endurance? I tried some bach megatone in the past and I felt
I had less endurance in these mpcs

Megatones have a larger throat and different backbore than standard Bachs, that's probably why they were tiring.

When I say a heavier blank, the weight difference is barely noticeable. Nothing like a Megatone.

Tbone00 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:37 pm I tried some bach megatone in the past and I felt I had less endurance in these mpcs

I think the Bach Megatone mouthpieces, with their vary large throats and large backbores, may have been designed to mercilessly suck the air out of your lungs!

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:08 pm On cups, the star indicates a slightly heavier blank than the previous ones with no star. It only applies to F and deeper. I think the shallower cups are good the way they are so I didn't add any weight to them.

On shanks, the star indicates a new backbore design from this year. During this pandemic I've been doing a lot of R&D.

Were all of the shanks redesigned or just F and beyond?

All backbores are redesigned. There are a few that I haven't gotten to yet, ones that I rarely make.

As soon as I get my machine running again and get somewhat caught up, I can think about more

I tried quite a few of the * shanks and I can say the difference in the E4 and 8 shanks was unbelievable. It was already my favorite size to begin with so for there to be room for improvement is surprising.

The E4★ setup is really special in my Bach 36B. Doug has something magical there. If you’ve got a medium bore horn, I can’t recommend it enough.

Coming soon (I hope) a dedicated D+4 shank for D+ cups. I want to use a D+ on my 36B but the E4 is just a bit too open.

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Fri Sep 24, 2021 10:03 am Coming soon (I hope) a dedicated D+4 shank for D+ cups. I want to use a D+ on my 36B but the E4 is just a bit too open.

YES! keep me posted on this one!

I’m pretty happy with my E4* in my Shires .525. I’d say it complements the versatility of the horn. I’m using a 104 rim and a Sauer leadpipe.

Doug, I will send you an email right now.