Posted by Lew on May 09, 2002 at 12:11:39:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: My new King 2341 posted by Ed on May 09, 2002 at 11:34:27:
They are close, but not identical. UMI used an older style main tuning slide on the new King that is a little wider and more open. The leadpipe and receiver are also slightly different amd the leadpipe is higher. They do seem like minor differences, but added to the fixed bell it plays much better than the old style. Dillons had one of the old style 2341s that I also tried for comparison and the difference was obvious to me. I still worried about the bore, but I decided that what mattered was how it played and not some measurement.
Everyone's response to a specific horn is different, and the only way to know for sure is to try them side by side. If you have the opportunity, find someplace where you can play your current King, a new King, and any of the other horns that you are interested in side by side. That's the only way to really know what's best for you. If you don't have any stores nearby where you can do this, any horn you could think of will be at ITEC if you can get there.
As for price, the cost of a silver King is about the same as that of the "S" model Miraphone 186, so unless you get lacquer the King won't save you anything over the Miraphone.