As the title says: I'm in the position of maybe buying a slightly used, special prototype built Conn62H. It sports a sterling silver bell and Lindbergh valves.

I can get it for a reasonable price; I've tried it and it feels right for me to play (though I'm not foremost a bass trombonist); it is in great shape, though used.

What are the characteristics of Conn 62:s? Any special traits or quirks to be aware of? Anyone have experience with Lindbergh valves?

The amount of time I've spent on double-valved bass trombones, is not much at all - maybe like a couple of hours throughout my forty years of playing - so I'm looking for tips, opinions, shared experiences and whatnot in the similar vein.

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like a great unique horn.

The CL valves are great though 2 can be heavish. Since you've tried the horn you already now how it feels so at least you're ahead if the game in that respect.

Had one some years ago. Sent you a pm for more infos<EMOJI seq="1f642" tseq="1f642">🙂</EMOJI>

I've gone from tenor to bass, and I've got a couple general comments not necessarily directly related to the 62h.

The first thing you miss when going from tenor to bass is your air supply. Basses can be an incredible wind suck. The 62h at least doesn't have a huge bottom slide, but the big valves will decrease the resistance, so you either learn to conserve air at the chops or grow a third lung. If you've been playing for 40 years, age related playing issues may start to show up, and air supply can be one of those issues. It was for me.

The second thing you miss is melody and nice harmonic lines. Bass parts don't give you the same harmonic experience. Bass bone is often written as a percussion instrument (hard attacks on fundamental notes). You have to learn to take a different kind of musical satisfaction from bass playing.

Say goodbye to lip slurring. I made a bit of a study of lip slurring on tenor. On bass it is SOOO much more difficult mainly because of the air involved and the distance between the partials is bigger the lower you go. Making a bass sound smooth and musical is hard. Some people do achieve it, but it takes a lot of work, and geez is it hard.

As thrawn22 said, those valves (in addition to being big and open) are physically heavy. If the age issues are catching up with you, this might become a problem. Some people resort to Ergobone support at least as a backup. The sterling bells can also be heavy, so just pay attention to that aspect of the horn.

The 62h should still have some Conn vibe to it, it looks like you're coming to it from Shires and King. Not sure if that will be a hurdle or not. I'd recommend finding what the horn wants and playing it that way. Don't try to force it into a Shires feeling. Maybe listen to a friend play it and see if you can get any insight into characteristics of the horn itself. Complement the horn's traits rather than fight it where possible.

When you get it, please report back. I'm interested in a modern 62h as well, although I'd probably get something more conventional with a rose bell and rotors.

I can't speak to that exact setup, but having had a 62H for 20 years, I can say that i love the bite I get on low register and (mine at least) isn't very mouthpiece-dependent as some horns can be. Mine's a dependent setup with the regular rose brass bell and traditional Conn rotors. I would imagine with the double Lindberg rotors and the silver bell that it'll be heavier.