Famous Artist Era
Includes the period of mouthpiece names in the format "AI-346"
This era is listed by Conn as lasting from 1914 to 1928. Quoting the January 1969 issue of Conn Chord magazine: "The third period in the Conn exhibit is the Famous Artist Era - 1914-1928. Although the big touring military-style bands had reached their peak shortly after the turn of the century, the next two decades saw no let up in the demand for copies of the mouthpieces used by the great artists - Herbert L. Clarke, Alessandro Liberati, Theodore Hoch, Bohumir Kryl, and many others. Several distinct styling changes are evident in the Conn mouthpieces of this era. Except for the trombone and bass mouthpieces, the rounded cup is matter of the past. The new, more streamlined cup, in keeping with the advent of "modern times," is by far most in evidence, and these mouthpieces were now made from one piece of brass bar stock. To the casual observer, many of the mouthpieces in the Conn collection may look the same. However, the cup, bite, rim, orifice, shoulder and back bore, which determine the tone and playing qualities, were considerably changed." (Copyrighted, 1968, By Conn Corp.). It must be noted, however, that you do see other mouthpieces than just artist models during this period. Perhaps some are ideas taken from artist models but not named after the artist anymore. Also, the 1934 Conn catalog still lists only these mouthpieces, and not the (newer) Precision mouthpieces which supposedly came about in 1932. I suspect that this period in fact lasted through 1935, with the Precision mouthpieces starting in 1936.
The Mouthpieces
The naming convention is that the first letter is the same as the letter in the model number of the instrument. Hence A=cornet, B-trumpet, C=Alto horn, etc. Scroll down to the table for the appropriate instrument.
The columns listed as "Bakelite number" are for the visible embouchure versions of each mouthpiece.
The following list is mostly from the 1934 Conn catalog. If you find an error, please let me know (see main page for e-mail).
Cornet Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: cornet | |||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Connqueror style number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-344 | - | - | Conn Shallow |
| AI-346 | AI-401 | - | Conn No. 32 |
| AI-348 | AI-402 | AI-548 | Conn Wonder |
| AI-350 | - | - | Conn H.L Clarke (Common sense) |
| AI-351 | AI-405 | - | Conn Leick |
| AI-355 | AI-409 | - | Conn Stross |
| AI-358 | AI-412 | AI-558 | Conn Pechin |
| AI-366 | AI-420 | - | Conn N.Y. |
| AI-368 | - | - | Conn Levy |
| AI-377 | AI-427 | - | Conn Easy Playing No. 1 |
| AI-378 | AI-428 | - | Conn Easy Playing No. 2 |
| AI-379 | AI-429 | - | Conn Easy Playing No. 3 |
| AI-381 | AI-431 | - | Conn Correct No. 1 |
| AI-382 | AI-432 | - | Conn Correct No. 2 |
| AI-383 | AI-433 | - | Conn Correct No. 3 |
| - | - | AI-584 | Connqueror style |
| - | - | AI-585 | Connqueror style |
| AI-386 | AI-436 | - | Conn No. 11 (Eb) |
| AI-391 | - | - | Conn Wonder (Wide rim) |
| AI-392 | - | - | Conn Model (Wide rim) |
| AI-393 | - | - | Conn Besson (Wide rim) |
| AI-394 | AI-445 | - | Conn Fluegel (1928) |
Before the "AI-346" naming convention was adopted several other models cornet mouthpiece had crossed the proverbial stage. The following list is from an early 1920's cornets and trumpet catalog. I am listing only those mouthpieces not included in the list above.
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: cornet |
| Name |
|---|
| Conn Hi Henry |
| Conn Clarke |
| Conn Kryl |
| Conn Weldon |
| Conn Mygrant |
| Conn Liberati |
| Conn Amateur |
| Conn Chambers |
| Conn Besson |
| Conn Bruce |
| Conn Hoch |
| Conn Courtois |
| Conn Arbuckle |
| Conn Model |
| Conn Ward |
| Conn Knoll |
| Conn Compensating No. 1 |
| Conn Compensating No. 2 |
| Conn Compensating No. 3 |
| Conn Interchangeable Trumpet Stem |
| Conn Interchangeable Cornet Stem |
| Conn Interchangeable Rim, Cornet and Trumpet-Small |
| Conn Interchangeable Rim, Cornet and Trumpet-Large |
| Conn Crean |
Trumpet Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: trumpet | |||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Connqueror style number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|---|
| BI-220 | BI-420 | BI-520 | Conn No. 1 |
| BI-221 | BI-421 | - | Conn No. 3 |
| BI-222 | BI-422 | BI-522 | Conn No. 7 |
| BI-223 | BI-423 | BI-523 | Conn No. 18 |
| BI-224 | BI-424 | - | Conn No. 6 |
| BI-225 | BI-425 | - | Conn No. 8 |
| BI-226 | BI-426 | - | Conn No. 10 |
| BI-227 | BI-427 | - | Conn No. 12 |
| BI-228 | BI-428 | BI-528 | Conn Opera, No.1 |
| BI-229 | BI-429 | - | Conn Symphony, No. 3 |
| BI-230 | BI-430 | - | Conn Concert, No. 4 |
| BI-231 | BI-431 | - | Conn Small, No. 6 |
Before the "AI-346" naming convention was adopted several other models trumpet mouthpiece had crossed the proverbial stage. The following list is from an early 1920's cornets and trumpet catalog. I am listing only those mouthpieces not included in the list above.
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: trumpet |
| Name |
|---|
| Conn Ivory Model - made in any style for Cornet or Trumpet |
| Conn New York Model |
Alto Horn Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: Alto Horn | ||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|
| CI-200 | CI-400 | Alto (deep) |
| CI-201 | CI-401 | Alto (shallow) |
| CI-202 | CI-402 | Special |
French Horn Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: French Horn | ||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|
| DI-200 | - | French horn (deep) |
| DI-201 | - | French horn (shallow) |
Mellophone Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: Mellophone | ||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|
| EI-200 | EI-400 | Mellophone (deep) |
| EI-201 | - | Mellophone (shallow) |
Trombone Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: Trombone | |||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Connqueror style number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|---|
| HI-200 | HI-400 | - | Innes |
| HI-201 | HI-401 | HI-501 | Trombone |
| HI-202 | HI-402 | - | Pryor |
| HI-205 | HI-405 | - | Kenfield |
| HI-206 | HI-406 | - | Kenfield, for Bass trombone |
| HI-208 | HI-408 | - | Simmons |
| HI-210 | HI-410 | HI-510 | A. Clarke symphony |
| HI-211 | HI-411 | - | A. Clarke bass |
| HI-212 | HI-412 | - | A. Clarke bass special |
| - | HI-413 | - | Bakelite mouthpiece bowl |
Before the "AI-346" naming convention was adopted several other models trombone mouthpiece had crossed the proverbial stage. The following list is from a mid 1920's trombone catalog. I am listing only those mouthpieces not included in the list above.
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: Trombone |
| Name |
|---|
| Conn Corey |
| Conn Easy Playing |
Bariton and Euphonium Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: Baritone and Euphonium | ||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|
| II-200 | II-400 | Baritone No. 1 |
| II-201 | II-401 | Baritone No. 2 |
| II-202 | II-402 | Euphonium reg. |
| - | II-403 | Bakelite Mouthpiece Bowl |
Bass Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: Bass | ||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|
| JI-200 | JI-400 | Standard Eb Bass |
| JI-201 | JI-401 | Giant Eb Bass |
| JI-202 | JI-402 | Helleberg Bass |
| JI-203 | JI-403 | C.G. Conn Ltd. Special |
| JI-204 | JI-404 | Chief J. Kuhn |
| JI-205 | JI-405 | Geib |
| - | JI-406 | Bakelite Mouthpiece Bowls, Eb Bass |
| - | JI-407 | Bakelite Mouthpiece Bowls, BBb Bass |
Bugle Mouthpieces
| Conn "Famous Artists" mouthpiece list: Bugles | ||
| Standard number | Bakelite number | Mouthpiece name |
|---|---|---|
| LI-200 | - | Soprano Bugle |
| LI-201 | - | Tenor Bugle |
| LI-202 | - | Baritone Bugle |