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Hi Everybody, I've recently found a Bach 18 corporation New York, well it's really different from the modern 18...it's unbelievably larger, I thought it should have been smaller due to the age of manufacturing but I was mistaking, and it works better than the modern one. Anybody has little more info about that kind of Bach? Someone told me that they are quite rare..

For relevant Tubenet background on this, see for example Mouthpiece consistency. Yep, larger - or smaller, or deeper, or shallower ...

It's larger in inner diameter, the depth is the same as modern.

I'm unfamiliar with their variations in mpc's as I only own one; my first mpc
Bought it in the '70's, haven't used it since.
I do have various sizes in tbn mpc's from various periods and they can differ quite a lot.
For example the N.Y.'s have a much shorter shank then the Mt.Vernon's (the period following).
It all comes down to if the mpc helps you to increase the efficiency with doing whatever it is you want to do.

Stryk wrote:I have a few older Bach 18s. They each seem a little different and are NOT the same as the ones produced today.

It’s 34 mm diameter vs 32 of the modern 18. Could it be a special 18 made for request?

Sidanas wrote:

Stryk wrote:I have a few older Bach 18s. They each seem a little different and are NOT the same as the ones produced today.

It’s 34 mm diameter vs 32 of the modern 18. Could it be a special 18 made for request?

Or maybe modified post-manufacture. I have a 40-year-old 18 on my 28J and it measures 1-1/4", or ~32mm.

Sidanas wrote:

Stryk wrote:I have a few older Bach 18s. They each seem a little different and are NOT the same as the ones produced today.

It’s 34 mm diameter vs 32 of the modern 18. Could it be a special 18 made for request?

The first tuba 'piece I played on was a NY 18. When it was replaced with a new 18 (around 1982), I also noticed that the new 18 cup was narrower, and the inner rim more rounded, than the NY 18.

That NY 18 was a superb player. It really calmed down the squirrelly slotting of the early (and very mediocre) YBB-321 I used it on. Even with all the plating worn off of it, I kept it handy 'til I graduated from high school in 1987.

Mouthpieces can change in size during production due to dulling of the cutting surfaces. While it is true that hardened steel cutting tools cut through brass like butter, the tools do wear and are shaprened (thus reducing the amount of brass removed as steel is filed away). How often they are re-shapened is anybody's guess.

I am most impressed with Terry Warburton's mouthpiece consistency. Computer directed cutting gets as close to consistent as it can be. When I watched, the cutting tool was recalibrated on every cut, the mouthpiece blank was set and measured by computer before cutting started. Very consistent.

Bach 18's were the standard for many decades but have fallen out of favor. I turned back to one as I got older and my sound seemed to brighten. The Bach 18 took the edge off and, with a little searching, I found a magic one. I have a New York 18 that is good and had Mr. Oberloh refinish it for me but that Elkhart 18 is stock in every way and pure magic.

It took me about 20 different Bach 18's to find magic but it made me happy for the last 5 years.

To complicate matters, is the Faxx 18 (which I love) the same or similar to the Bach 18?

Ace

Ace wrote:To complicate matters, is the Faxx 18 (which I love) the same or similar to the Bach 18?

How could it not be? I mean, from what I'm reading there, given enough Bach 18s, you're sure to find one that's just like your Faxx. The published dimensions are the same - 32.1mm inside diameter, 8.84mm throat (same as 24AW.) But, judging from my Faxx Hb based on the Conn 120, you might look for some small adjustments to the rim - the Hb's rim is not only unlike what I understand the Conn 120's has been in any era, it isn't like anything else I've seen either. It would be interesting to see what they do with the 18.

I've heard comments that the Blessing 18 was the best Bach 18 ever made.