Quote Originally Posted by davewerden View Post
That's an interesting thought. But I wonder about the mechanical parts. The computer tells the machinery what do, but something mechanical has to do the carving (until we start using lasers, I suppose). Can the computer adjust as the cutting tools start to wear, as they surely must. I confess I am not very familiar with the in's and out's of the process, so maybe they have somehow been able to allow for all mechanical factors.
It depends on the machine. Some machines have the capability to make this adjustment based on run time, and others use crazy lasers and stuff to constantly make adjustments.


Quote Originally Posted by DutchEupho View Post
Hi Doug,

I've compared a "old" 4AL with a "new" 4AL to and noticed that the old one goes in to my receiver a lot further. It's a difference of approx 3mm. This gives a totally different feel if I don't adjust the AGR settings on my E3.
The "old" 4AL gives a far more open sound then the newer one.
This is a significant difference in shank size, but I've suspected that this has been happening for some time now. Just that I don't own any large shank horns and I don't have enough free time to run to a shop and measure stuff. I really wish that manufacturers would get their stuff together on this, or at least be more transparent about it. A horn built for a larger shank size is probably not going to play too well with a smaller shank mouthpiece. I guess that's fine if you're trying to give players a bad impression of another brand of mouthpiece.

"Normal" (Bass Trombone) = 12.5mm
Some other size (Yamaha?) = 12.65mm (+3mm)
Mirafone Large Shank? = 12.7mm (+4mm) <-- I think Euphoniums have been using this recently
Chinesium example I own = 12.75mm (+5mm)