TromboneChat

For very silly reasons (I promise it's even sillier than you think), I'm on the hunt for a bell in the 9" range that has as small a throat as possible.

I have one of those weird Palatino straight basses with a 9" bell, and that bell is now being used in my ongoing modular 3B project as it actually fits the 3B bell connector for some silly reason. It has a bass throat at the big end, which decreases down to a 3B size at the end.

(Side note: there are examples of this model with a .555" bore, that play amazingly well. Mine had a crazy small slide bore, like .480" or something. It still actually played well, but the slide was beyond repair so now the bell is all that's left.)

Given that finding another dirt cheap Palatino is a possibility, are there any other 9" bells out there with smaller throats? Maybe some weird old European valve trombones?

If it's a modular project, why not go for a cut bell? You could have several flares in different materials, sizes, and gauges.

Whatever you want to do with that

Anyway, there are certainly some dirt cheap old European trombone-like instruments that could fit that description. That's pure luck.
Alternatively if money wouldn't matter: Kühnl & Hoyer made a Slokar tenor with a 9 inch bell. If I remember correctly that was on the leaner side for a large bore. Or you could have something custom made by Sandner...

88HK bell maybe?

I thought about the 88HK (or King 5b?) bell as well, but I think the SLokar 9 inch bell could be smaller in the throat. Never seen them side by side, in the end just guessing. Obviously both are not good candidates for a budget project. The 88HK bell is probably a bit more likely to get in the US.

Look into the Holton tenors: 680, 150, and (I think) 159. Not as narrow as a German design, but maybe enough.

German bells! They're all usually 9 or 9.5", even on horns with very small bores. Some have a huge throat and make the instrument behave more like a bass (even if the bore is smaller – the horn I use as a romantic bass has basically a small-medium bore, but a very fat bell throat), but some have rather small throats. I would look for a cheap horn that's not desirable or historically valuable and strip it for parts. I actually have a project like this myself. One of my German straight tenors has a really bad slide (for some reason extremely stuffy, and leaky-feeling even though I can't for the life of me find a leak) but the bell is incredibly good whenever I try it with a different slide. I'm hoping to eventually have that bell flare mounted on an American style horn, or otherwise use it if I ever get a German instrument where the bell is damaged or not good.

I own a Holton TR160 with 9“ Bell. If I compare to Conn 88, If feels much more like a medium bore, maybe because of the small valve. Just an idea on the subject.

LeTromboniste wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 7:01 am German bells! They're all usually 9 or 9.5", even on horns with very small bores. Some have a huge throat and make the instrument behave more like a bass (even if the bore is smaller – the horn I use as a romantic bass has basically a small-medium bore, but a very fat bell throat), but some have rather small throats.

German bells were the first thing I thought of, but I had thought they all had large throats. Good to know that some have small throats, that would definitely be a nice option. I think one without a kranz would work best for this project, so it wouldn't even need to be a fancy one.

BGuttman wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 6:59 am Look into the Holton tenors: 680, 150, and (I think) 159. Not as narrow as a German design, but maybe enough.

Toto wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 9:30 am I own a Holton TR160 with 9“ Bell. If I compare to Conn 88, If feels much more like a medium bore, maybe because of the small valve. Just an idea on the subject.

I thought about the Holton 9"ers. I wonder how those throats (or the 5B/88HK bell that others mentioned) compare to that Palatino bell.

JohnL wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 12:04 am If it's a modular project, why not go for a cut bell? You could have several flares in different materials, sizes, and gauges.

This hypothetical bell isn't for the modular 3B project, it's for a different (non-modular) project. Of course, a cut bell could still be a part of it, which I definitely wouldn't mind.

MStarke wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 4:07 am Whatever you want to do with that

The only hint I will give is that it's not for a trombone!

Finetales wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 10:45 am The only hint I will give is that it's not for a trombone!

Aha,
The reverse-facing wrap-around 4-valve compensating contralto helicon project?

I used to own a Holton 168 (early tr150)I am pretty sure that the bell throat are a tiny bit smaller than a 88H..

No mention of bell size, but perhaps you could inquire as it looks like it could possibly be close to 9”. https://ebay.us/m/K6nIGG

Curiosity got the best of me.

That seems like it would be a good candidate!