$1,300 later ...

I am truly a dope.

So I got the H179 back and then started the attempt to get it back under my fingers.  Adapting back to F fingerings was easier than I expected, though my brain does hiccup from time to time.

Part of the process is sitting with a tuner and find the center of the horn and each note.  As I said earlier, the H200 was all over the place.  The H179 seems sharp, but consistently so.  Yanking the main tuning slide out a LOT fixes that.

But here's where I get stupid.

I've been using a Laskey 75J on the H200.  The 75J is a shallower cup than the 75G, which is more "normal."  I planned on using the 75G on the H179.  I don't recall exactly why, but I put the 75G into the H200 and started playing.

Remember that lack of tonal focus I mentioned in an earlier post?  Do you see where this is going?

So now the H200 is IN TUNE and all the notes are CONSISTENT, just by changing the friggin' mouthpiece.  Grrrr....

So then came the second part of the test -- recording.  Here's what I found.

The H179 beats the H200 in the size of the sound.  The H200 is a wee bit lighter and the H179 is a wee bit darker.  But that's really the only point that goes to the H179.

The H200 is more flexible.  Technique is better.  Tone color is has a little more push to it.  It's cleaner sounding.  It "sings" better.  The cash register isn't fluffy like the H179.  And now, with the right mouthpiece, the motherfucker is in tune.

I'm glad I got the H179 fixed finally.  But ... well ... oh, never mind.