Thank you Leigh McKinney! (Eclipse Trumpets)

mmccourt · Regular Member Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 46

A couple of months ago I started looking for someone to restore a very old Besson cornet of mine. After some research I came across Leigh McKinney in England who makes Eclipse Trumpets. I saw some amazing pictures of work he had done restoring other vintage instruments and read a bunch of great reviews on here so after pricing some things out in the US and talking to Leigh I decided to send it over to England and this is what happened!

Unbelievable! As you can tell by the pictures this cornet was in awful shape and now I doubt it looked this good even close to 100 years ago when it was first made! The cornet was shipped out a day or two ago and I expect it to arrive soon. Leigh was nice enough to send me pictures during the restoration so I could see what was going on.

Check it out!

http://photobucket.com/albums/v396/mmccourt/

If he can work this kind of magic on a beat up cornet I can only imagine what his Eclipse Trumpets must be like when he starts from scratch! I am really looking forward to trying one. If you need to have some serious work done on your horn I would highly suggest you contact Leigh. He is a pleasure to work with and I think these pictures show what the guy can do!

Mike

big al · Regular Member Joined: 04 Jul 2004 Posts: 53

That overhaul is impressive stuff. A freind of mine just got an Eclipse trumpet and Flugelhorn, he is over the moon. Leigh can expect a visit from me in the very near future, once I get a chance to try my mates horns!!

cjdjazztpt · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 12:34 pm Post subject:

Wow, it's a looker now and from what I have heard about Leigh he'll surely have it playing better than ever as well.

Tootsall · Heavyweight Member Joined: 05 May 2002 Posts: 2952

Yep, the shipping "back and forth" can be a pain but ohhh... what results! Here's my Getzen Eterna that he did:

From the pictures in your photobucket album, it looks like the diet and exercise his wife has him on is having some results!

bj · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 2:48 pm Post subject:

Hi folks
My brother won a Bach Strad C (large bore 229 bell, 25 pipe) on ebay that had been overhauled and sold by Leigh. It is in gold plate. It looks and plays brilliantly.
So after seeing the results he had a Bach Strad long model cornet done by Leigh (scratch gold finish with 2 triggers added). It was a rough looking beast but now it too is a lovely hooter.
This man is absolutely top drawer, does great work and is a gentleman. He will be the only man I let loose on my kit.
all the best
Brian Jones

GMacDaddyTPO · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 4:02 pm Post subject:

I know this is probably outta place, but how much did that cost in total, after shipment and things?

FatPauly · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 5:09 pm Post subject:

Mike -

Congrats on getting your "new" FCB cornet. I have enjoyed Leigh's handiwork too:

Actually, the silver cornet belongs to another gent who was having his done the same time as my gold beauty, however, I had Leigh restore an identical one for me to silver plate earlier this year and it is identical to the one in the picture. I am so happy with my matched set of Boston 3-Stars.

- Paul Artola
Ellicott City, Maryland

Tootsall · Heavyweight Member Joined: 05 May 2002 Posts: 2952

Macdaddy, in response to your question about cost: each project has a different price tag. Leigh has to actually consider the manhours and material costs required (customization can add up quickly depending upon what you ask for.... so can the cost if he has to source out rare or custom parts such as fancy or "vintage" finger buttons etc.).

The amount of tear-down required to burnish wrinkles and "dent memories" is a serious cost factor as is the possible need to rebuild valves. If you want one of his fancy "brush/bright" finishes (check out his website and look at the flugelhorn in the "custom" section) then that involves a lot of handwork too.

Honestly, the price of a project really can't be estimated based on what "somebody else's" cost. BUT... it is probably fair to say that his prices are equivalent to the same quality project done here in North America but you can figure on having to add a hundred in shipping fees. Still, when I had the Getzen done his turn-around time was about three weeks although his "order book" is most likely quite a bit larger after the flugel's success at ITG. Check with one of the North American rebuilder/customizers and see what their turn-around time is.... I'll bet it is measured in months rather than weeks.

Remember, there is only he, John, and (not sure on this) one other worker doing all of this stuff PLUS building the Eclipse line of horns and, even though he does "burn the midnight oil", the volume of product he is working on is truly remarkable in view of the quality of the projects!

You'd have to ask him directly for a price estimate based on what you have in mind...he will answer you and, as others have said, he's a really nice guy to work with.

_________________
Play every piece as if it were going to be your last.

[ This Message was edited by: Tootsall on 2004-07-31 22:14 ]

Eclipse Trumpets · Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2004 12:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks Mike!

Came out nice didnt it! well you will see in a few days i guess.

Henry Lowther tested it out after plating and loved it, but i'd like to hear what you think as you of course knew how it performed before the makeover.

Regards

Leigh

mmccourt · Regular Member Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 46

I received the horn a couple of weeks ago and it is Fantastic. It looks and plays great!

Thanks again!

Mike

JackD · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 1:42 am Post subject:

That looks very very nice.

TimBrown · Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 9:32 pm Post subject:

Hey Tootsall:

That is a great looking horn!

I've periodically thought of having something similar done to my CHI1070. It's in silver but have it satin finished and maybe a gold wash in the bell. I'm really hesitant -- it plays perfect and don't want to mess it up.

Your horn looks great though!

Tim
_________________
Getzen 900 DLX
Kanstul Meha .470
L.A. Benge 3x+ 9879
1912 Holton New Proportion cornet
Kanstul CCF 925 flugel
King 1122 MFH

10 out of 10 people die. Do you consider yourself to be a good person?