Jeff Stockham puts it well describing his 1959 10B Victor: "The copper bell also adds projection. It is generally accepted that high(er) copper content bells make the sound "darker" and have better projection. It is said that on an instrument with a Coprion bell "you can't overblow or 'crack' a note." Also, according to Conn, "Coprion has a special characteristic which permits great dynamic range without change in tone color." What does Coprion do to the sound and the way the instrument plays? The brass bell showed an "irregular and hodge podge" crystal structure with comparatively large crystals, while the Coprion bell showed "ions of pure copper side by side in regular, close knit conformation and at right angles to the surface of the metal". In its advertising for the Coprion bell, Conn showed diagrams of the structure of "ordinary" brass bells compared to the Coprion bell. Coprion isn't the same as a "rose brass" or "red brass" bell these are brass bells with a higher copper content. It consists of electrolytically depositing COPper IONns (hence the name Coprion) onto a stainless steel precision form accurate to millionths of an inch (so Conn said in its 1959 catalog), creating a seamless bell. The process necessary for producing the Coprion bell was developed by Conn in 1938. But what is "Coprion", and how does it affect the playing qualities of the instrument? Quite a few Conn trumpets, cornets and some trombones came with a Coprion bell. In this article I would like to talk a bit about Conn's "Coprion" bell. Here's an article from the Conn Loyalist website on Coprion bells:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories |