Posted by Rick Denney on January 06, 2003 at 17:28:33:
In Reply to: Re: 56j King posted by sean on January 06, 2003 at 13:21:14:
Don't go too far. The King doesn't have the larger-bored fourth-valve tubing, and this does affect some of them that I've played. Similar, yes, but not almost identical, in the way that a 186 BBb and a 186 CC are almost identical.
Historically, I think it's more accurate to say that the 56J is the CC version of the 2341. As I recall the story, UMI directed the developers of the 52J to use the valves and bottom bow from an old-style 2341, and to this they added the Monster Eb bell and other bits. They marketed it as a Conn for commercial reasons, but it's made in the King factory. The King itself is pretty similar to an old-style 2341, but with a bit different plumbing to offset the much shorter bell. I also think that the 2341 doesn't get the factory tweaking that the Conns get, and I'm sure the vastly different price point is a big factor in that.
Rick "who has liked the best Kings better than the few Conns he's tried" Denney