TromboneChat

Hi everyone. I've learned a lot about the "Olds Special" trombone by reading through these forums, but I thought I'd register and try my luck asking personally.

I recently got my hands on an Olds Special at the start of the year and have loved the sound of it for my Jazz and Salsa gigs. The big issue is with the tuning. I play using a Bach 11C at the moment and while it can work quite well, the tuning is often extremely fickle and very hard to get sitting right which can be endlessly frustrating. Often it's on the flat side of things, even if I have the tuning slide pushed in very far. It ends up being only just playable in tune - but still can feel very wrong. I was wondering if any of you legends (the experts!) might be able to help me. I've been trying to figure out a solution to this issue for months now! Thanks in advance.


P.S. I have ordered an Olds 3 trombone mouthpiece internationally which should arrive in a month, but I wanted to make a post just to get some clarity while I wait. If the Olds 3 works, that's great - but it would also be good to know if there are any other makes/models I can use for variety.

Some Olds receivers are a little smaller than the standard shank. There are several solutions to this:

1. If you have a tech with the appropriate reamer you can have the receiver reamed to standard.

2. You can order an Olds mouthpiece.

3. Doug Elliott makes a special shank for his mouthpieces (this is not the least expensive option, but possibly the best).

4. You can have a tech turn down a standard shank by 10-20 microns.

The Olds 3 mouthpiece should be a good start. Give it a try. If you like a little larger cup, you could try an Olds 1 mouthpiece. Otherwise, your best bet is to get an Olds shank from Doug Elliott, and pair it with your favorite size cup and rim. (Doug will give you advice.)

As Bruce noted, the other solutions to a mouthpiece which is too large for the (smaller-than-standard) Olds receiver (thus making it play flat) are "invasive" and irreversible.

Another solution is to contact Ken Titmus at KT Custom Mouthpieces.
He does fantastic work for things like that

Chat to Doug Elliott

Ditto... get a mouthpiece from Doug. It will not be wasted because you can also get a second stndard shank that will fit all others... Doug

DougHulme wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 1:27 pm Ditto... get a mouthpiece from Doug. It will not be wasted because you can also get a second standard shank that will fit all others... Doug

Yes. I now have (effectively) two small-shank D Cup sets from Doug Elliott - a D* Olds Shank for my Olds Recording and also a standard D* Shank for my other small bores ( e.g. , King 3B). Same Cup for both. Very handy - easy to switch from one to another. Now I just have to decide which Rim to use - ST 98, ST 99, or ST 100!