Re: Re: Re: Re: YBB641 ?


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Posted by Lee Stofer on October 13, 2002 at 15:41:23:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: YBB641 ? posted by look at old alex pic on October 11, 2002 at 01:06:13:

I may be wrong, but I believe that the YBB-641 is based loosely upon an older Meinl-Weston or Scherzer design, and has most of the problems and little of the sound of the originals. I briefly played one in a military concert band some years ago, and it was a miserable experience. The rotors are way too heavy, and the bumpers are small enough that it is very difficult to set one up with a really nice action.
On the other hand, I have rebuilt a number of older YBB-321's for metro Atlanta schools, and I think they are golden performers, if you're tall enough to comfortably hold one. As I was working on several of these horns, I also had an Alexander 163 in the shop, and I noticed a marked similarity to the bell throat and flare on the Alex and the Yamahas. After putting the Yamahas back together with aligned slides, no dents and no tension in the joints, they were serious players. I just couldn't believe that 15+ year-old school horns could play that well.
I have taken a YBB-641 and tried to make it a better horn. I drilled lightening holes in the top and bottom of the rotors, and drilled and tapped the bottom caps to accept end-play adjusting screws, Mirafone-style. It played better, with faster, quieter valves, but I still did not want to have one for my personal horn.
Lee Stofer


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