Hi All-

Just got a King 2280 euph, love the way the horn sounds and plays. Don't want to mess up a good thing, but is this shank different than a standard large bore shank? My SM4X goes in a bit further than I think it should (almost up to the ferrule (?) on the mouthpiece. I've played another 2280 before, same issue. Here's a picture to show what I mean.

Anyone know if this takes an older different shank? Thanks!

Nate

Well you're right. The mouthpiece shouldn't go in that far. I would be looking at the mouthpiece rather than the horn, however. My guess is that you have a 'European' shank baritone mouthpiece that is bigger than a standard small shank but smaller than a standard large shank. You need a standard size large shank mouthpiece to properly fit that horn.

[quote="Leisesturm"]Well you're right. The mouthpiece shouldn't go in that far. I would be looking at the mouthpiece rather than the horn, however. My guess is that you have a 'European' shank baritone mouthpiece that is bigger than a standard small shank but smaller than a standard large shank. You need a standard size large shank mouthpiece to properly fit that horn.[/quote]
This post is wrong!! The SMX4 is a normal large shank mouthpiece. If it was euro shank it would be a SMX4M.

Every mouthpiece I've ever tried in a 2280 basically bottoms out in the receiver.

The King 2280 horns all have these stupidly oversized receivers. In theory nothing is wrong with your horn because every 2280 I've seen is like that, but personally I don't like how they play with the weird receiver.

The only way to fix it would be to have a tech replace the receiver with one from a Yamaha or Besson or something like that. Might be more trouble then it's worth.

If you don't like how it plays, consider getting the receiver replaced. If it just looks weird, don't worry they're all weird and nothing is wrong with your horn.

... well I did say it was a guess ... <hangs head>

From the factory, the 2280 comes with a large shank receiver.

Unlike mrdeacon, I've never had a problem with any of my two dozen or so large shank mouthpieces bottoming out in 2280s, which just goes to show YMMV.

I have to say, though, that unless it's a trick of the angle at which the phote was taken, the receiver and brace don't appear to be stock. Is this a new horn or just new to you? If it's just new to you, is it possible the original receiver was swapped out for a small european (tuba) or kaiser shank?

Many older King large shank trombones also have a receiver that's larger than normal. I consider it a different shank size, and offer a King shank taper as an option in my mouthpieces.

That's definitely further than usual, but I'm not sure what folks mean by "bottoming out." To me, bottoming out would imply that the small end of the mouthpiece shank hits the small end of the leadpipe where it inserts into the receiver. Otherwise, don't ALL mouthpieces bottom out? Isn't that what happens when the tapers of the shank and the receiver lock up in an interference fit?

As long as the receiver doesn't hit the mouthpiece ferrule or the small end of the leadpipe, it should play as well as any other euphonium. I guess it's possible that King designed the horn around a particular gap at that point when using a proprietary King mouthpiece, but losing a few MM at that junction wouldn't necessarily harm your tone. In fact, some might see it as improving the tone.