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