Shopping for an older horn

[FLgargoyle]

I've had pretty good luck on eBay lately, and prices seem to be down going into the summer season. I bought an Olds Super that I love for trumpet work, and now I'm looking to find a deal on a cornet. I have a battered Ambassador, but it is too bright for cornet work. I have a 1917 King, but it is a little TOO old; it's kinda clunky, and intonation is iffy. Also it only works w/ a vintage (ouch) mpc. I'm currently looking at Olds, Getzen, King, Blessing, or Conn cornets, maybe between the 1930's and 1960's. Any recommendations on models, vintage, etc.? Don't tell me to get a Besson Sovereign; I collect horns on a budget!
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Jay
'64 Olds Super Trumpet
'35 Conn 40B Vocabell
'55 King Master Cornet
'40 Conn Aida Trumpet
'21 Boston Alto Horn

[plp]

As much as I love old Conns, I would advise against most of the Director series. It isn't that there aren't good ones from all years, or that you can't find them cheap in good condition. It is just that if you are old enough to post on a website, you will push it to the maximum it was designed to do pretty quick. I HAVE picked up 3 good ones, a '60 18-A, a '63 17-A, and a '57 18-B, all with copper bells. I have sold all of them and heard no complaints, but they all went to guys that wanted one for sentimental reasons, usually because that is what they started on.

The sleepers I've found that really stand out as great cornets at bargain basement prices are the Olds Specials, Selmer Signets, (old) Besson Stratfords and Oxfords, Boosey and Hawkes student lines, and yes, the venerable Bundy. The Specials tend to go for only slightly more than the Ambassadors, and the 2 I've gotten were nice, easy players. The Signets are great quality cornets, and while I've never played a Bach 184, I've been told the Signets with the pinky rings rather than hooks are actually 184's made by Bach and stamped as Signets for American distribution when Selmer acquired Bach. I haven't found one thing on the Web to back that up, but it makes sense for 1970's marketing.
The cornets made across the pond are some of the best constructed and durable I come across, although it may just be anyone having one took a little better care of them as they are rather rare. Part of that may be some of them are actually Kanstuls, but there are those around here that can elaborate about that relationship far better that I.

I started on a Bundy cornet, and if I'd spent half as much time practicing as I did griping about that horn, Wayne Bergeron would only be getting half the gigs he gets today.. At the end of the day, they are probably the easiest cornet to get a good sound on quickly, and the hardest to push out of that sound when trying to progress. Keep in mind, I was listening to a lot of Mendez, Doc, and Maynard back then, so imagine my dissappointment. I've found a raft of these locally at yardsales and estate sales, as they were the recommended beginner instrument for most band programs around here back when American short cornets were the rule rather than the exception. They age gracefully, and pretty much are the Timex'es of the cornet world, as I've found a few that looked horrible, but still played comparibly with others in better condition. They can take a ton of dings and some pretty ugly dents and still rock on.

[FatPauly]

Jay -

Do what I did. Swap the bell off your Ambassador for a Yamaha Shepherd's Crook bell and your Ambassador will mellow out. Also, I use deep flugel mouthpieces with my Ambassador since the receiver is the funky older sized one. In the end, I get a pretty dark sound out of my Ambassador, and after I got it plated in silver and gold, it looks like a million bucks too!

[FLgargoyle]

Interesting idea. I love building stuff. Although I've never taken a horn apart, the idea doesn't scare me. Now, where would I find a Yam bell?
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Jay
'64 Olds Super Trumpet
'35 Conn 40B Vocabell
'55 King Master Cornet
'40 Conn Aida Trumpet
'21 Boston Alto Horn

[Gilligan]

Just a little info about using a flugel horn mouthpiece in the older Ambassadors. Mine is a 48' with the larger sized reciever that were used until about serial number 186800 or so. I love the deep rich sound of the deep v flugel horn mouthpieces but I've found that the deep v cup places the intonation right on the edge of being flat. (The Olds 3 mouthpiece that was standard has a c cup which seems to raise the pitch.) When I'm playing in a warm location with the flugel horn mouthpiece, I'm having to do a lot of lipping to bring up my intonation. For this reason I am replacing the reciever with a modern one. I choose to have a short shank reciever placed on the instrument as it shortens the length of the horn about a quarter inch, raising the pitch just enough to require a little more tuning slide length to be used. I'm currently waiting for it to return from the shop. I'll let you know how it works.
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Gill

[Solar Bell]

I had a 1955 Reynolds cornet that was really sweet.
I don't remember the model though.
Reynolds made good horns.
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Chuck Willard

[FatPauly]

Talk to your local Yamaha dealer or contact Yamaha directly. The bell I have is for their 2000-series horns, so it is not too expensive. Maybe around $100-150, according to the shop that built mine.