Conn Vintage One extravaganza

dlang · New Member Joined: 14 Mar 2004 Posts: 8

I recently attended a class with Bert Truax at Texas A&M commerce where a Conn Rep brought about 15 horns of various configurations. Talk about kids in a candy store! Now Im not a student (college) but was invited by Bert to try out the horns. I was looking for something to replace my 20+ year old large bore yamaha. The two I narrowed down to were both 24k gold plate, one with yellow brass, one with sterling silver bells. Both had #46, non-reverse taper lead pipes. In my opinion(whatever its worth) when I played the horns at a louder volumn(pushed them a bit) the sterling bell seemed to have more point to the sound. The word edge comes to mind but I don't want to imply negative aspects. Both horns had great tone quality and feel. I also played a silver laquer horn with the 34 lead pipe (by the way, Berts horn is not a 34 its a 46). Now that Ive said all that here is what I ordered the other day and why:
I chose the 24K Gold plate, Sterling Bell, #34 reverse taper pipe. I play in church every sunday. We do a great deal of commercial, contemporary Christian music in the form of choral anthems and praise tunes. I felt like I needed a horn that would sizzle up high when needed and be capable of great orch. soudn as well. Also, Im tired of trying to fill up my large bore yamaha(the jobs hard enough as it is!) I chose the 34 pipe with the idea that the upper register would be slightly more focused and maybe a little easier. I dont consider my self to be a true lead player but find myself in that position because Im closer to it than the other players.(help!) Well thats my story, I cant wait to get my horn. All of the ones I played I liked. I just chose the sound I liked and thought would fit best for what Im doing right now.
I also went off the deep end and ordered a new piccolo as well(stomvi) Im going to be eating peanut butter sandwiches!!!!

_dcstep · Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 5:17 pm Post subject:

Sounds like a big day in East Texas! Bert knows how to throw a party, doesn't he?

Let me know if any of you guys want to be added to the DFW-Trumpeter email newsletter. You've blown the next few years' trumpet budget, but some of your buddies may want to come to the next DFW Trumpetfest.

Drop me an email at dctep@swbell.net if you want to be added to the list. Enjoy your new horns. Take care of that sterling bell. I've heard they're kind of fragile, so don't ram the mutes in. Did you buy the Stomvi from Airstream? I don't play picc, but I've heard they're excellent.

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

dlang · New Member Joined: 14 Mar 2004 Posts: 8

I ended up buying out of state. I normally like to give business to local dealers but buying both horns I was forced to get each one as cheaply as possible.

_dcstep · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 7:54 am Post subject:

Well, Bob Syberg (Conn-Selmer rep) will be happy no matter where you bought it.

On the gold V1 and the Stomvi, how big was the purchase price difference, if you don't mind me asking? I try to encourage my friends to support the dealers that sponsor these extravaganzas (Brook Mays does a lot around DFW and so does Airstream), but the price differential is often too high. I think most buyers are willing to pay something extra to touch and play a wide variety of horns, but they'll only go so far. I'm trying to figure out where the demarcation point is.

(BTW, I have one friend that tried around a dozen horns at Brook Mays to finally zero in on the best one for him, and then he ordered out of state to save $50, plus sales tax. I don't think that's fair, and I'm reluctant to ever help him again. That seems like too small a difference given the fantastic service he received, but my sense is that the difference is usually much larger.)

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

Tom LeCompte · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 7:07 pm Post subject:

Dave,

I don't think I have a demarcation point. It moves around depending on circumstances. I think a store that provides some service should be compensated for it, but I think the degree of compensation varies with the degree of service. A store that provided useful advice plus a large selection of horns would have a higher point than one that just had a stable of horns, which in turn would have a higher point than one that had a single horn and I had to drive all over town. I think this extends to mail order as well - even if I didn't buy locally, I'd still be inclined to pay more for a place that provided good advice than one that just shipped "boxes-O-brass".

What premium would I be thinking about? Probably 10-15%. At at a 20% premium, I'd need a good reason not to be buying elsewhere. (If I took eight hours of their time, that might be a good reason)

That said, my experience is that the differences are smaller than one might think. The nearest store to me has prices on Bach Strads that are within $30 of WWBW's.

Cheers,

Tom

_dcstep · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 4:49 am Post subject:

Yes, Tom, I agree that there's is no single "demarcation point." I too vary it depending on the service I receive. The 8% sales tax is enough for many to bypass their local dealer, no matter the selection and level of assistance. When that factor is eleminated the playing field will be more level.

BTW, have you got a line on more flugels to try today?

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

mheffernen5 · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 5:22 pm Post subject:

It sounds like you found some really cool trumpets. Have fun