TromboneChat

So, every now and then, I see a King 2B where the curved brace curves back toward the tuning slide. The vast majority of them curve toward the bell.

Does anyone know what's up with this? Was there a particular model, or time period where King mounted them differently?

Just curious

mike

All of these have been modified after they left the factory. Some players like having the brace bent toward the tuning slide (although I have no idea what they were looking for). Sometimes it's an incompetent repairman who just mounted it backwards.

I think I read somewhere that some players felt the bell resonated better with it mounted the other way, so some would’ve been factory, others modified afterwards.

Rusty wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:37 pm I think I read somewhere that some players felt the bell resonated better with it mounted the other way, so some would’ve been factory, others modified afterwards.

I'm not sure any would have come from the factory like that. Maybe by request of a top artist.

I am quite sure none were factory.

Rusty wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:37 pm I think I read somewhere that some players felt the bell resonated better with it mounted the other way, so some would’ve been factory, others modified afterwards.

I heard there was a trombone tech who would reverse the King front bell brace to help the bell resonate/respond better. The idea being that as designed, the front brace with how large that flange is extends pretty far forward inhibiting the bell vibrations.

So I've been told.

Interesting thing is, if you read the King sales literature of the period they extol the enhanced resonance of the setup as shipped.

Bicycles with lugged frames similar to the tuning slide fitting are analyzed as pinned connections. Moving the bell support brace towards the tuning slide fitting stiffens that joint and increases the moment that the tuning slide/bell fitting can react. High frequencies are enhanced and low frequencies are suppressed. King got it right, as built, at the factory.

That forward bell stiffness or dampening is probably why Kings play very loud so well without breaking up. Bells that are braced farther back do respond faster but some tend to vibrate too much at louder volumes and the sound breaks up.

You can't just flip the brace around. It would require considerable modification since it's all one piece and the receiver has to point the right way. And the bell flange would be slanted the opposite direction from the taper of the bell.

Anything can be easy with a sufficient quantity of solder

brassmedic wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:38 pm You can't just flip the brace around. It would require considerable modification since it's all one piece and the receiver has to point the right way. And the bell flange would be slanted the opposite direction from the taper of the bell.

Exactly. Every time I saw one of those reversed braces, I started thinking about all the work it would take to cut the brace and braze it in the opposite direction. It probably takes a considerable amount of bending and flexing to get it to line up with no tension. There are no adjustable parts on those King braces…..it is one piece from the slide receiver over to the bell flange.