Duo Gravis XB

[sf105]

A number of years ago I found an S20 and put a DG valveset on it. That was a rockin setup. I played bass with an orchestra doing Holsts Perfect Fool Overture, which I had never heard of before. The bass bone and tuba had a lot of off-kilter counterpoint to the rest of the orchestra. Of course at a pretty obnoxious noise level. That S20/DG would bark. I'm not sure it was what I'm looking for now, but it was a piece of work then.

That's a great part. And it was written for a British G bass so a bit of edge would be appropriate.

[hyperbolica]

Just another note about this instrument. I have a long shank Schilke 59, and it bottoms out on something in the mouthpiece receiver, making it unusable. So there's a hard stop down in there a bit over an inch in.

And in answer to my previous question about the leadpipe and finger ring arrangement, yes, that does appear to be the stock design. I found a photo from the Brass Exchange which shows the same configuration at the receiver end of the slide.

[blast]

They have a two piece leadpipe. Many mouthpieces don't work. Ideally, you need a small gap between the mouthpiece end and the ridge in the pipe.

[Kbiggs]

They have a two piece leadpipe. Many mouthpieces don't work. Ideally, you need a small gap between the mouthpiece end and the ridge in the pipe.

You can use a King mouthpiece, which will fit. They can be difficult to find, as they’re often separated from the horn.

You can use Bob Reeve’s system of Reeve’s Sleeves. Send them your mouthpiece, and they’ll machine down the shank and give you a set of sleeves that fit on the end of the shank. Some of the sleeves are longer, some are shorter so you can dial in the gap.

You might also ask Doug Elliott if he is able to provide a shank that works in a King bass leadpipe.

[sf105]

Yeah, the old Shilke's don't fit. I usually find that Bach's fit and I also have a Rath 1 1/2 that works well.

[bassclef]

You can use a King mouthpiece, which will fit. They can be difficult to find, as they’re often separated from the horn.

This is true. Most of the BENGE mouthpieces have the right shank as well. Also pretty hard to find. Their 1 1/2G is a pretty great piece in that size range, if you can find one.

You can use Bob Reeve’s system of Reeve’s Sleeves. Send them your mouthpiece, and they’ll machine down the shank and give you a set of sleeves that fit on the end of the shank. Some of the sleeves are longer, some are shorter so you can dial in the gap.

Also true. Years ago, when I was putting a lot of money into getting a Duo Gravis set up to work for me, I actually mailed a DG slide and two Stork mouthpieces out to Bob Reeves for them to measure the receiver and re-shank those two mouthpieces accordingly. They did immaculate work.

[Matt K]

You might also ask Doug Elliott if he is able to provide a shank that works in a King bass leadpipe.

He does! Has a “K” designstion (not to be confused with the cup depth so a king shank for a k cup would be K8K for example)

[ScottZigler]

Can confirm! I have an L8K shank:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kedZw3Re7NuJzxm19

It sits the perfect 1" into the DG leadpipe while a normal L8 goes in farther (but still works).

If anyone would want to buy it or trade for a K8 shank, PM me!

[hyperbolica]

I just want to update this thread after playing the DG in a big band for the first time. The 4th parts in this band are as much above the staff as below, so you've got to have some upper range. The DG with the smaller Curry is perfect. Why did no one mention to me after 10+ years that the Kanstul is probably not the best big band horn out there? It seems obvious now, but I had to "kiss a lot of frogs" to figure it out.

Now the question is do I need the Kanstul?

[blast]

Mike Suter sounded great on his Kanstul. Just sayin'.

[Kbiggs]

In some bands, the 4th book lies mostly in and below the staff. For you, the Kanstul might be better suited to that kind of situation.

[hyperbolica]

Mike Suter sounded great on his Kanstul. Just sayin'.

Yeah, but he was Mike Suter. I'm not Mike Suter. I'm not even a real bass bone player. I just need something different.

I do sound pretty good on my Kanstul, but it's not always the kind of sound I want to make. And it's just a lot of work for a tenor player. The DG is somewhat less work, and it can sound tenorish when you need it to. Other people have pointed to this as a downside, but I think it's an upside.

I really wanted that 62h of Bills, but I got the Kanstul in the hopes that it had something 62hish in it, and it didn't work out exactly to plan. The DG is far enough to the tenor side of the spectrum that it can put a foot in both puddles, which is what I need a bass to do for me. I still have the Kanstul in case someone really wants me to play it.

It's not that the Kanstul isn't a great horn, I just don't think I'm the right player playing the in the right situations to get the best out of it.

[heldenbone]

If I were in your shoes and had that much straight mute usage, I'd probably get a stonelined or one of the fancy (and expensive!!!) Facet mutes. Both of them would be more accurate to the big band straight mute style sound than the Wick. The Facet mutes are all terrific, I Just can't see myself ever justifying that kind of price tag for a suite of them!

Do they still make the facet mutes? I think they are long gone.

For what is worth, I think that the Ullven mutes are the best:

https://trumpetmouthpiece.com/products/ ... 1331242078

I know bucket mutes didn't come up but the Peter Gane one for bass is decent.

For trumpet, the best fiber mute I found was the Voigt Brass blue conical one.

VoigtBrassStraightMute.jpg

I don't know if it's available for trombone. Pitch and register-to-register balance for the trumpet mute is wonderful, and the sound is muted without the aluminum sizzle.