XO 1240

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Specialk3700
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XO 1240

Post by Specialk3700 »

I'm looking at getting a new bass bone as I'm currently borrowing mine. I've been looking at some used Jupiter XO 1240 LT's. I'm asking anyone who's played one what they think and about the bore of the slide. All the sites I see list it as . 571 bore. I've never seen a bass trombone at this bore unless its duel bore. Is this horn duel bore? A weird . 571 bore horn? Or is it a mistake?
Engineering student with a trombone problem.
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Posaunus
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Re: XO 1240

Post by Posaunus »

From "The Horn Guys" Website
(https://www.hornguys.com/products/xo-12 ... trombone-1):

This is a bass trombone with double inline rotary valve made by KHS music in Taiwan as part of their new professional series of instruments. The horn reminds us of the Yamaha 830 in shape and look. Three interchangeable mouthpipes are included, as well as a hard case in an unusual classic tan color.

We have not measured these yet to confirm the published specs. Bass trombones are usually .562" bore hand slides with about a .593" bore in the valve section. This appears to be completely different, but it may be a manufacturer typo. Update soon...

Key: Bb/F/Gb/D
Body Material: Lacquered Yellow Brass
Bore: .571″
Bell: 9.5″ Hand-Crafted Yellow Brass
Wrap: Open
Outer Slide: Brass w/ Nickel Crook
Rotary Valves: Dual Independent Mechanical-Link Tapered
Case: XO Professional Classic-Style Case

It's a nice player, a large improvement over the older model 740. It has a good responding low range and excellent projection. The tone is very stable for a good blastissimo when necessary.
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Mv2541
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Re: XO 1240

Post by Mv2541 »

I technically still own one and it's a very good instrument. Not on the level of Shires or M&W but it would fit most people's needs well.
I really don't know what the bore is. I went from a 62 sized horn with rotors to a dualbore with Thayers and the xo feels like neither.

If I don't sell it by next year I might have the second valve cut to Bollinger tuning and sell the Shires. The XO is a good enough horn I wouldn't mind keeping it for a good while.
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BillO
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Re: XO 1240

Post by BillO »

I've been playing 1240RL now for about 2.5 years. I have absolutely no complaints with it. Plays real nice and has a nice big sound. No issues with range either. Blows pretty open through the vales so I imagine the 'T' version would be even better in that respect. Quality and build are strictly top drawer. The XO horns use genuine Thayer valves.

To give you a comparison, the 1240RL plays and sounds a lot like the Yamaha 830 but looks a lot like the Conn 62HI.

The new website lists the bore at 14.5mm which is .571". I have measured the outside of the lead pipes (which fit very snugly ) at 0.57".
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Burgerbob
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Re: XO 1240

Post by Burgerbob »

Just wanted to point out that the 1240 is nothing like Yamaha 830 (as Hornguys say) except that it has two valves and an open wrap. Odd comparison to make.
Aidan Ritchie, LA area player and teacher
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Mv2541
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Re: XO 1240

Post by Mv2541 »

BillO wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:29 am I've been playing 1240RL now for about 2.5 years. I have absolutely no complaints with it. Plays real nice and has a nice big sound. No issues with range either. Blows pretty open through the vales so I imagine the 'T' version would be even better in that respect. Quality and build are strictly top drawer. The XO horns use genuine Thayer valves.

To give you a comparison, the 1240RL plays and sounds a lot like the Yamaha 830 but looks a lot like the Conn 62HI.

The new website lists the bore at 14.5mm which is .571". I have measured the outside of the lead pipes (which fit very snugly ) at 0.57".
I'm almost certain they are NOT genuine Thayers. Not saying they are bad; the blow is actually quite respectable.
Actually the sound is the best part of the XO horns, the overall build is where they are still lacking a little bit compared to other horns.
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BillO
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Re: XO 1240

Post by BillO »

Mv2541 wrote: Thu Oct 04, 2018 10:59 am I'm almost certain they are NOT genuine Thayers. Not saying they are bad; the blow is actually quite respectable.
Actually the sound is the best part of the XO horns, the overall build is where they are still lacking a little bit compared to other horns.
Suit your self.

My 1236RL-T has a genuine Thayer on it. I'm not sure why they would not put them on the 1240 yet advertise that they do. As for build, I guess it's easy to say an upstart brand is not up to snuff, and of course your entitled to your opinion, but I own 3 XO horns (1632, 1236, 1240) as well as a Shires custom tenor and a King 4B from the 'good ol' days' and the build of the XO horns is every bit as good. In fact, the valve section disconnects on the XO 1236 fit better than those on Shires and the bayonet mount lead pipe system is far better.

In any case, unless your sure they are not Thayers, you shouldn't be publicizing that. KHS are not a fly by night company and I doubt they'd risk their reputation and a lawsuit by lying about the equipment they use. Especially since they put a genuine Thayer in my horn.
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Mv2541
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Re: XO 1240

Post by Mv2541 »

BillO wrote: Thu Oct 04, 2018 12:28 pm
Mv2541 wrote: Thu Oct 04, 2018 10:59 am I'm almost certain they are NOT genuine Thayers. Not saying they are bad; the blow is actually quite respectable.
Actually the sound is the best part of the XO horns, the overall build is where they are still lacking a little bit compared to other horns.
Suit your self.

My 1236RL-T has a genuine Thayer on it. I'm not sure why they would not put them on the 1240 yet advertise that they do. As for build, I guess it's easy to say an upstart brand is not up to snuff, and of course your entitled to your opinion, but I own 3 XO horns (1632, 1236, 1240) as well as a Shires custom tenor and a King 4B from the 'good ol' days' and the build of the XO horns is every bit as good. In fact, the valve section disconnects on the XO 1236 fit better than those on Shires and the bayonet mount lead pipe system is far better.

In any case, unless your sure they are not Thayers, you shouldn't be publicizing that. KHS are not a fly by night company and I doubt they'd risk their reputation and a lawsuit by lying about the equipment they use. Especially since they put a genuine Thayer in my horn.
Look at the XO website, it even says:
Independent Dual Thru-Flo

That seems like it would be their term for their own Thayer-like design. They don't look like OE Thayers; perhaps someone converted yours at some point? Or maybe they had used real ones for a short time depending on how old your horn is. I am not even quite sure how old mine is, but the website doesn't say the actual word Thayer anywhere.

Also I have owned my fair share of Raths/Shires/King's/Bach's/Yamahas/etc and there is no doubt in my mind that the XO is not quite up to par with some of the really well made horns (not saying all of mine were great even from the name brands). In fact nothing I have ever seen apart from an amazing new MW tenor is even close to the build quality of Rath's stuff (but I suppose I never owned a Thein).

By this I am not saying the way the horn blows or sounds; just the way it was put together. I actually quite like the sound and blow of the 1240 more than any Getzen/Edwards bass I have played (except the Markey horn).
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BillO
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Re: XO 1240

Post by BillO »

Well, look at that, you're right! Now I've learned something new - thanks. :good:

Mine came new with the Thayer. I guess they decided either it was too expensive to use brand name valves or theirs fixes some of the quirks of the Thayer - which it certainly has.

I'm still of the opinion that their build is right up there though. Although I guess there is the possibility I got lucky 3 times.
Last edited by BillO on Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Tooloud
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Re: XO 1240

Post by Tooloud »

Although I play the XO 1242 (Dependent - yes, I'm from the stone age...), I know (!) that the T-model has XO valves on it. No O.E. Thayers.
But that doesn't matter in any way. No one, really, will ever hear any difference in sound. By the way: It's the man, not the machine...
As long as it works: And that's the point: The XO's are very well built machines. So, if you don't sound like Charlie Vernon, you can not blame the instrument for that...
edgrissom
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Re: XO 1240

Post by edgrissom »

I have never owned the XO 1240 but we have had a few in our store and I played them quite a bit. Very nice horns. It's possible that the bore really is .571 but I never noticed it being too big to affect anything. It didn't have OE Thayers but rather the Jupiter version of the axial valve. They are OK.
I play an Edwards as my bass trombone but would have no problem switching to the XO if I had to. I own an XO 1236 as my .547 horn and love everything about it. The valve section on it is listed as .562 bore.
edgrissom
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Re: XO 1240

Post by edgrissom »

Off-topic but still funny..... We occasionally have parents that come in to look at horns for their kids and will say the band director recommended the "X-n-O" brand. We always have to check to see if they mean XO or Xeno
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