Help Needed From Vintage Conn Cornet Players

1957Tim · Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 4:58 pm Post subject:

Hello Guys,

Nine weeks ago I shipped this Conn 12A cornet to Anderson Silver Plating due to valve issues. They determined it needed a valve refit to rectify its problems, so I just received the horn back this week. The valves are now fabulous!

My original concern when I started this thread was over the short shank mouthpiece issue for these pre-1958 Conn cornets. I had tried a few different mouthpieces in this horn, but none fit properly. I wanted to try one with the correct taper and shank diameter for this horn, but couldn’t find one. I knew you guys had experiences in this realm so I asked you to share them, and I appreciate you doing so.

GordonH mentioned that if it had been used for a long time with a modern taper mouthpiece, it could have altered the original taper of the receiver. Others of you had experienced success with other pieces that were not necessarily the right tapered piece. I wasn’t sure what direction to go, but since the pieces I tried didn’t really fit, I wanted to try one that had the right taper.

Before the tread went dormant, maiden received the Curry piece that he had ordered for his vintage Conn, and reported that it fit perfectly, and surpassed his expectations. This was really encouraging to read.

steevo, who lives close to the Monette shop, took his 1948 Conn 80A in so they could check the taper and make him a custom mouthpiece. He shared that the new piece perfectly fit his horn, and improved its playability. Win/Win! This was also encouraging to read.

In my last post to this tread, I mentioned that I had contacted Mark Curry, and he was going to make me a mouthpiece. He recommended the DC piece, so that’s what we went with. I had it in hand well before the horn arrived back from Anderson’s. My experience mirror’s that of maiden.

After giving this cornet a thorough cleaning, we’ve spent some quality time together. It plays as nice as it looks. Here is the original eBay link if you would like to take a look. https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/73/messages/33735

I originally purchased the horn with several possible options. One of my friends who is a pastor and is learning to play cornet asked me to help him find a nice one, but $400 was the maximum he could spend. I had the winning bid at $410, so I felt pretty good about it until I realized it needed a valve job to become a reliable player. The added cost of the valve job has now eliminated both possible options for purchasing the horn, so I am just going to enjoy playing it. It is a special horn, and I’m not unhappy about keeping it.

Take care guys, and thanks again for sharing your experiences here. Maybe my experience here will help someone someday, who knows?

-1957Tim

delano · Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 1:17 am Post subject:

The 12A is built like a real cornet and not as a trumpet with a cornet receiver.
So the facts:
- on a pre 1955 Conn cornet, as long as the receiver is in original condition, a modern long and short cornet mouthpiece will not fit ( I own a 1942 80A and a 1948 36A and they prove it for sure);
- a modern long shank mp will certainly cause some intonation problems;
- a 80A will play surprisingly well with a C cup mp with still some cornet sound;
- a Wick short shank mp will fit better than other modern mp's and is very playable on an old Conn cornet;
-the Wick bashing here is not right, there are no "worst designs", there are mainstream and more specialised mouthpieces. He or she who wants to be beautiful has to suffer. The standard Wicks have a reasonable playable rim, the Heritage mp's are more difficult to play and more specialised;
- the standard Wick 4B is quite a 'normal' mouthpiece and not a specialised one and good playable for allround use;
- the Curry DC is for my taste much too bright for a real cornet (I own a DC, a VC and a BBC) though it could be a good mp for an 80A. I am not sure for a 12A.

1957Tim · Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:20 pm Post subject:

Hi Delano!

The downside to owning a cornet that doesn’t accept standard cornet pieces is that you can’t use any of the standard pieces you already own.

On the upside, this cornet is really special, so I’ll buy a designated piece or two for it.

I would agree that the Curry DC is a little on the bright side, so which Curry is your favorite to use. I want that nice cornet sound, but I’m also trying to balance endurance and range, which as you know becomes more of a challenge as one goes with bigger deeper pieces. Is your endurance/range hampered more or less from one Curry piece to the other?

I would also like your opinion of the 36A you own. I’ve read some nice things about this model and even tried to buy one once. If I were going to purchase another vintage cornet, it would be nice to get another Conn that uses the short shank mouthpiece.

I thank you in advance for sharing, happy playing my friend.

-1957Tim

1957Tim · Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 5:25 pm Post subject:

Dale Proctor · Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 7:34 pm Post subject:

That may be possible, depending on the date.
_________________
"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

delano · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 8:12 am Post subject:

IMO all the Curry mp's are on the bright side. That's not a shortcoming, it's the way they are constructed for taste.
I just checked (I sold some Currys) and I still have the 8.5B for trumpet, never played it seriously because even the B-cup was too bright for me. About the cornetpieces, the DC sounds for me ( it CAN be me!) close to a Bach C-cup, the BBC (I have a complete new one one with the Conn Short Shank) is more cornetty but still brighter than a Wick4B, the VC is not bright but very weird. I'm afraid that I can't play it very well, it has less core but it's constructed that way. I have problems with the resonance.
I own now five cornets (sold the Yamaha) and my 1948 36A is the one that I almost never play.
It is a cornet with a fabulous intonation but it has no real function for me.
In orchestral situations the only cornet I ever used was my Yamaha 2310 and that was cause I doubled the first part in a weird orchestra with a flügel. Another reason is that I own since sometime a Getzen Eterna 800 cornet, the best cornet I know, and I play almost all my practice stuff on that one. My Ambassador cornet is played when I am traveling, the 80A when I feel trad, a Belgium/Dutch Van Engelen cornet for moments when I want a flugelish sound (it has something like the ancient Olds receiver so I play that one with a Yamaha 14F4 flügel mp.

delano · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 8:17 am Post subject:

I forgot: IF I play the old Conn cornets I use a Jim New made Warburton compatible Conn short shank backbore (Conn 4 copy) with an Arturo Warburton cup. For the 80A I also own a professionally modified (Conn short shank) Yamaha Canadian Brass Regular trumpet mp. The Curry 8.5BBC plays and sounds also pretty good on the 80A but I'm a little addicted to the Arturo cup.

Dale Proctor · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 8:55 am Post subject:

Dale Proctor · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 7:33 am Post subject:

1957Tim · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2018 5:30 pm Post subject:

Hi Dale! I’ve been reading your brass wisdom for years now, so it was nice to finally be able to meet you and put a face with your name.

I enjoyed trying the various horns you brought along, but there was something really special about that Conn 9A of yours. I’ve not had the opportunity to play many Conn’s, but the three or four that I’ve tried all played nice. I wouldn’t mind having another Conn cornet someday, but I’m sure my wife would say that I have enough horns. Oh, and about that WT flugel. I was hoping that you left some of those high notes in it, but I wasn’t able to find them.

You sure made it look easy to play.

-1957Tim