TromboneChat

What are all the different versions of the King Tempo trombone?

As far as I know:
Curved-brace Tempos; nickel plated bell
1305; .491 bore; 7-3/8" bell (same slide tenon as 2B)
1306; .500" bore; 8" bell (aka "Super Tempo"; same slide tenon as 3B)

Then there are the straight-brace Tempos
606; .500" bore, 8" bell; yellow brass (this was originally a King Cleveland model; same slide tenon as 3B)
607F; .525" bore, 8" bell; yellow brass (same slide tenon as 3B+)
608F; .525" bore, 8" bell; yellow brass with red brass bell (same slide tenon as 3B+)
There's also a 609F; not sure about that one. I think it might be a 607F rebadged for marketing purposes.

605?

I believe 609F is the same as the 608, it's got a rose bell.

Bach5G wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 12:42 am605?

I believe it's a straight brace, 0.491" bore. Some had F-attachments.

My horn's 7 3/8" bell has no number under "Tempo" and a curved brace. Which one would it be?

BGuttman wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 1:06 am

Bach5G wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 12:42 am605?

I believe it's a straight brace, 0.491" bore. Some had F-attachments.

There were/are all “Tempo” horns?

1305 Tempo - .491"/7 3/8", nickel plated bell. On the wide pro chassis like a 2B. Never marked "1305" on the bell, only King Tempo in slant block lettering. Some have a yellow outer slide, but I've seen plenty that are all nickel as well so I'm not sure which is factory or if they did both.
1306 Tempo - .500"/8", nickel plated bell. On the narrow student chassis (a la 606), but still has the curved bell brace. Always has 1306 on the bell in the UMI block lettering.
1506 Super Tempo - same as the 1306 as far as I know, but with a straight bell brace like the student models.
306 Tempo - same basic specs as the 606 (.500"/8", yellow bell, nickel slide), but it's on the wide pro chassis like a 2B. Other small differences: yellow slide stockings, partially nickel bell braces. Weirdly, it's also the only King model I've found to not have a reverse tuning slide.

Those are the only models that are ALWAYS called Tempo.

606 - student horn .500"/8", sometimes called Tempo. Yellow or nickel slide depending on vintage. As far as I know the 605 (.491"/7 3/8") and 605F were always called Cleveland, never Tempo. Could be wrong on that though.
607/609 - .525"/8". Essentially a 3B+F with a straight bell brace and yellow outer slide, right down to using the same bell mandrel with a different stamp. Sometimes called Tempo or Tempo II, but many are just 607/609 (no such thing as a 609F). The later 607F/608F changed the leadpipe (for the worse) and were never called Tempo/Tempo II. 609 should have a rose bell like the 608F, but pictures of the 609 are scarce. There's one Google result from a Reddit post which I think looks to be rose? And the 609 Tempo IIs I saw on eBay many years ago were nickel plated.

Some '90s King catalog scans would be a great resource!

THANKS, Finetales. That's the info I was looking for.

Happy to help!

The lead photos on Brass Exchange listings are a really great resource for direct visual comparison, as they're always shot from roughly the same angle.

Turns out I have a scan of the '73 King catalog. I was able to look up the info (once I remembered that someone in the group had posted links to it a while back) and you were right on the nail. Thanks again.

The original (1305) Tempo is a dandy.