I'm assuming they only come in yellow brass, but is it basically the same handslide it would be with a custom?

Same specs as a B62, quality may be a tad different

Not really. Custom series horns all together are assembled in Boston.

All Q parts are made and assembled in China. Custom slides are, to the best of my knowledge, assembled in MA with Eastman tubes and crooks. I believe the cork barrels and ferrules are still made in MA.

I have a Q series that I have begun swapping parts on. First was the bell. The change in sound was significant.

The slide is last in my swapping priority (if at all). I had some work done on the slide recently and it's solid. I suspect that a well-set-up Q series slide is nearly indistinguishable from an average custom slide.

Shires posted a seminar in 2021 that goes in-depth about their slide production/repair:

<YOUTUBE id="FQz9M2gq0JA" t="2622">https://youtu.be/FQz9M2gq0JA?t=2622&si=j0GjHUltb3MxgXqH</YOUTUBE>

Compare the chrome plating on a Q versus a custom series. That is all I need to see.

It depends on when the Q was produced. Upon their introduction, and for some time after that, the Q parts were made in MA and sent to China for assembly, before coming back for QC. I don't know the time period when manufacturing the parts went to China.

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[quote="StPetersBone"]I have a Q series that I have begun swapping parts on. First was the bell. The change in sound was significant.

The slide is last in my swapping priority (if at all). I had some work done on the slide recently and it's solid. I suspect that a well-set-up Q series slide is nearly indistinguishable from an average custom slide.

[/quote]

According to Alex at Shires, the Q bass bell is a BII-7-Y/G-M (Bach-type mandrel, two-piece, soldered rim, medium weight in yellow or gold brass).

I agree that there is no apparent need to switch to a custom handslide: I'm not a fan of dual bore handslides. They feel unfocused to me, and they are air hogs.

I bought a Q36YR as a chassis for a Custom BI-7-RG-LW (Conn-type mandrel, two-piece, soldered rim, lightweight red brass tail and gold brass flair). I also replaced the tuning slide with a seamed red brass B-taper tuning slide. It's a very different horn--it has much more core and focus than with the Q bell. The seamed tuning slide seems to me to have increased the focus. I am thinking about switching back to the yellow Q slide (also a B taper, but drawn rather than seamed). The seamed slide might work well with the Q bell, but I haven't tried that combination yet.

What bell did you switch to?