What is a Medium Shank?

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JoelKelley
Posts: 11
Joined: Jun 14, 2018

by JoelKelley »

Try as I might I can not find a mouthpiece that is listed with this feature, could someone please help.
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EdwardSolomon
Posts: 130
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by EdwardSolomon »

It's what the Germans call Baritonschaft. This is often referred to as 'Euro' shank. It sits midway between large and small shank and it is commonly found on older European baritones and trombones.
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pompatus
Posts: 434
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by pompatus »

Medium shank, sometimes called European shank, is most often found on older euphoniums. The shank, as you might guess, is in between small (tenor) shank and large (bass) shank. I used to have a Denis Wick 4AM to fit a Willson euphonium I played through undergrad, but sold it after I sold that horn. It’s fairly common to see old Besson and Boosey & Hawkes euphoniums in medium shank, as well.

Many mouthpiece manufacturers will make a medium shank these days, but it may be a special order item. I believe Doug Elliott has a medium shank listed on his website for certain series of his mouthpieces.
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ghmerrill
Posts: 2193
Joined: Apr 02, 2018

by ghmerrill »

Wick lists a number of euph mouthpieces in medium shank: <LINK_TEXT text="https://www.deniswick.com/wp-content/up ... -Chart.pdf">https://www.deniswick.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Denis-Wick-Products-Mouthpiece-Mute-Comparison-Chart.pdf</LINK_TEXT>. Other makers do as well. There's additional information on Dave Werden's forum about this. Here's an example: [url]<LINK_TEXT text="http://www.dwerden.com/forum/entry.php/ ... yO0wadKiUk">http://www.dwerden.com/forum/entry.php/711-Mouthpieces-for-Medium-Shank-Euphoniums#.WyO0wadKiUk</LINK_TEXT>.

And, as mentioned, Doug makes them for his mouthpieces. I have one for my oval Amati euph.
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BGuttman
Posts: 7368
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by BGuttman »

Also please note that Medium Bore trombones generally do NOT have a Medium Shank mouthpiece. They take small (standard) shank mouthpieces.
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afugate
Posts: 671
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by afugate »

Please note: If this question is concerning a mouthpiece for a medium bore horn as being discussed in a separate thread of yours :), then don't worry. Most medium bore horns, like my Yamaha 645 - and the King 3B+ mentioned in that thread, use a small shank mouthpiece.

I *think* there are a few medium bore horns that have large bore leadpipes and therefore take a large shank MP, but they are the rare exception.

--Andy in OKC
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heinzgries
Posts: 250
Joined: Apr 24, 2018

by heinzgries »

You can get all Mouthpieces from Klier, Tilz, Schmidt with the option bariton/euro shank
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ghmerrill
Posts: 2193
Joined: Apr 02, 2018

by ghmerrill »

And you can get Klier through Dillon in the US. They're a bit spotty in terms of what Klier items they have in stock, but they will order for you (and you can even return it after that if you aren't happy with it). If they don't have what you're looking for in stock, it will probably take several weeks for them to get it. But they're great to work with.
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BGuttman
Posts: 7368
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by BGuttman »

I think this discussion is probably moot since the OP was talking about a mouthpiece for a medium bore trombone.
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ghmerrill
Posts: 2193
Joined: Apr 02, 2018

by ghmerrill »

Definitely tricked by the "Medium Shank" title. :shock: :? :lol: But a lot of this terminology can be confusing until you get experience with it -- especially the shank sizes that can appear in the case of bartiones/euphoniums/tubas (American, European, Old British, etc.).
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JoelKelley
Posts: 11
Joined: Jun 14, 2018

by JoelKelley »

Yes but on the Yamaha website it has it listed as requiring a medium shank mouthpiece..I really didnt know that they existed before now.
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BGuttman
Posts: 7368
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by BGuttman »

[quote="JoelKelley"]Yes but on the Yamaha website it has it listed as requiring a medium shank mouthpiece..I really didnt know that they existed before now.[/quote]

That's just WRONG. The Yamaha 640 takes a standard (small) shank mouthpiece.
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Kingfan
Posts: 1371
Joined: Apr 11, 2018

by Kingfan »

Local music store was selling cheap Chinese copy horns (Mendini?) brand new that took a medium shank. I pity the parents that bought a trash horn anyway, and to make it worse couldn't find replacement/upgrade mouthpieces.
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Matt_K
Posts: 4809
Joined: Mar 21, 2018

by Matt_K »

Which horn are you referring to? Looks like the 640 is indicated appropriately here:

<LINK_TEXT text="https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical ... oduct-tabs">https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/winds/trombones/ysl-620_640/specs.html#product-tabs</LINK_TEXT>

Might be wroth specifically pointing to the page so that if someone else has that question, when they google it hopefully this thread pops up detailing why the information is incorrect! Might help someone in the exact situation in the future!
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JoelKelley
Posts: 11
Joined: Jun 14, 2018

by JoelKelley »

No... 445g?
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BoneRob
Posts: 29
Joined: Apr 01, 2018

by BoneRob »

I remember being tripped up by this when I first started looking at medium bore horns as well. For instance, Yamaha lists the specs for the 446G as using a medium shank:

<LINK_TEXT text="https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical ... oduct-tabs">https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/winds/trombones/ysl-448g_446g/specs.html#product-tabs</LINK_TEXT>

I now know that it takes a regular shank like other tenor horns. Yamaha should really change that page.
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Matt_K
Posts: 4809
Joined: Mar 21, 2018

by Matt_K »

Ah yes, I see it!

[url=https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/winds/trombones/ysl-448g_446g/specs.html#product-tabs]448G/446G

(They have at least fixed it for the 630 series instrument and the other medium bores that I can find). So it should look like this for the 446G:

<TABLE>[table class="tg"]
<TR>[tr]
<TH>[th class="tg-031e"]Level</TH>
<TH>[th class="tg-031e"]Intermediate Tenor</TH>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Key</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Bb/F</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Bore</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]ML:0.525"</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Bell Diameter</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]8-1/2"</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Shank</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Small</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Leadpipe</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Yellow brass; Fixed</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Body material</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Yellow Brass</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Bell Material</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Gold brass; One-Pice</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Weight</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Standard</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Finish</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Clear Lacquer</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Inner Slide</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Chrome-plated nickel silver; Drawn</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Outer Slide</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Brass; Drawn; One-piece</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Mouthpiece</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]48</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Features</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]F-Attachment</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Pistons/Rotors</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]Hand lapped; String linkage</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]</TD>
</TR>
<TR>[tr]
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]</TD>
<TD>[td class="tg-031e"]</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
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Doug_Elliott
Posts: 4155
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by Doug_Elliott »

Cut it open and see what it looks like on the inside. Medium should be pink.
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Kingfan
Posts: 1371
Joined: Apr 11, 2018

by Kingfan »

[quote="Doug Elliott"]Cut it open and see what it looks like on the inside. Medium should be pink.[/quote]

Or the medium could get you in contact with your deceased trombone. :pant: