Narrow slide vs Wide slide

[pjanda1]

I think I've had among the narrowest (old Conn 30H) and widest (Holton Friedman) slides that have been made. The 30H wasn't for me, but I LOVE my 32H that is also quite narrow (much narrower than my much smaller 24H, among other things). I also love the Friedman, beast that it is, with a slide width that makes my 70H look puny. For me at least, the ergonomics are fine either way (only issue is pinching the flesh of my large-ish left hand in the cork barrel of the 32H if I don't put it in the right spot--the 30H was close to unworkable in that regard). I imagine I might like the 32H less if it had a wider slide, and I might also like the Holton less with a narrower one.

I'm guessing that how it fits into the overall design is what counts. And unsurprisingly, my favorite horn, an 8H, falls in the middle of the stable.

Given my new love of old Conns, I should find a T-STDN to try on my old Edwards. I've long been perplexed by how much I prefer my original ('96ish) T-BCN to the replacement I got ~5 years later, despite them appearing identical. (Original is more focused and less tubby/hooty sounding). I still have the both, but the outers on the good old one probably had too many bad days to be susceptible of resurrection.

Paul