1962 Conn 5A Cornet

[chapahi]

[DoubleEagle]

How do I contact Charlie or Bob? I should at least know what that is gonna cost. The Hetman's makes it a little better but doesn't solve the problem. I've been paying attention to the way I play, and apparently I sometimes lift my middle finger off the button slightly at the end of a fast passage. If that happens on the second valve on this horn, it bounces. Not so much in the middle of a passage, but like when I rip off a G major scale - the top G blurbles. I don't know if I can change that in my technique. It's pretty subtle.
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Benge CG, Early '70s Selmer piccolo, Early '80s Selmer piccolo, Conn 12A cornet, Conn 38A cornet, Conn 48A Connqueror "Vocabell", Conn Connquest 76A cornet, Conn Director 17A Coprion cornet, Conn Director 15A cornet, '50 Olds valve/slide trombone

[Bflatman]

The valves on the 38a need some consideration.

First of all they are bottom sprung crysteel valves, according to the conn loyalist site.

Bottom sprung crusteel valves have a a collar at the top that is fixed and unmoving, there is a pin that hangs down and serves for holding the valve aligned.

There is a very large cork sitting on top of the valve and this cork has a slot that allows the pin to be free and the cork does not touch the pin.

The pin sits in a hole in the valve and as the valve goes up and down the pin slides into and exits the valve. This changes the amount of air in the valve and a vent hole on valves was created on crysteel valves prior to 1950, this vent hole was dispensed with in later instruments. This vent hole was intended to prevent valve bounce due to air pressure changes in the valve.

Where a vent hole exists it will be on the top of the valve opposite to the pin registration hole and is the smaller of the two.

If the cork is wrongly cut flat it will cover and seal this vent hole. This may be the problem you have. The cork must have a bevel cut into it that stops the cork covering the vent hole.

Later instruments with no vented valves simply have a flat cork because a bevel is not required.

Look at the top of the valve does it have two holes in it or one. If it has two holes then the cork must be bevelled or the cork is cut wrong. A bevel can be easily cut in the cork with a blade to rectify this.

The other cause of bouncy valves is springs that are too weak, they are not strong enough to hold the valve strongly in the up position.

Oddly if the valve were too heavy, even good springs would be bouncy as the springs must hold the valves up against gravity to stop them bouncing. Lighter valves allow lighter springs.

[DoubleEagle]

This horn was made in 1965 and has the later version of valve with a relatively thin cork (as opposed to the more barrel shaped one) and a similarly sized felt washer. As I mentioned, I have ordered springs, but I'm not sure how to replace them since the valve stem is pretty well stuck and I'd rather not snap it off trying to get it out, at least until I can find some replacements in case that happens. Doing that turns the horn into a scrap parts horn if I can't find or have one made.

The alternative to removing the stem is to pop the retaining spring clip that hides under the felt and cork washers, hope it doesn't fly somewhere, replace the spring, and try to reassemble. But the clip is below the rim of the metal barrel and may require a special tool to reinstall.
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Benge CG, Early '70s Selmer piccolo, Early '80s Selmer piccolo, Conn 12A cornet, Conn 38A cornet, Conn 48A Connqueror "Vocabell", Conn Connquest 76A cornet, Conn Director 17A Coprion cornet, Conn Director 15A cornet, '50 Olds valve/slide trombone

[chapahi]

[connicalman]

[connicalman]

[ConnArtist]

[Richard III]

Hi All,

I just got my new Conn 5A today. Really different structure. Very short and heavy cornet. It's in very good condition. Compression is great. No dents. I have two 80A's. I have a Connquest 77A cornet. Not my first Conn. Bores big and small. This seems huge. I read that it felt smaller than an 80A. In my case it is the exact opposite. And the effect that the bell is so close makes it very loud. I have not recorded it yet. Intonation is very good. I used my usual mouthpiece. Upper range is odd. Almost unstable feeling. Weird. I'm not saying it is a reject yet. Stuff to try and think about.
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Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

[Dale Proctor]

Give it a good trial. They play differently from a lot of instruments, but once you get in the groove with one, they're hard to beat. For me, the upper register is significantly easier than on many cornets. Yes, they are heavy, and can generate a great volume of sound. Intonation is very good, too. Of course, ultimately, the horn has to be a match for you.
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[GeorgeB]

Dale is correct, you have to give it time. Both my pro trumpets have medium large bores and the larger bore on the 5A is a different kettle of fish. Everything about it is different. But man, what a sound when you get it right.
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GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
1952 Selmer Paris 21 B
1999 Conn Vintage One B flat trumpet
2020 Getzen 490 Bb
1962 Conn Victor 5A cornet

[Richard III]

It is one thing I was really looking for and that is intonation. So far none of the quirks of my other cornets. I've learned to compensate with so many others it might be part of the issue with this one. I'll play with some different mouthpieces today and see if that solidifies the upper range.

Also, as others have noted, the valves are bouncy. Not a big deal to me.
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Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

[Dale Proctor]

Yes, once you get used to the 5A, you'll discover that you can just play every note (except for the usual suspects like low D and C#) straight down the middle and it's in tune. I've found that it's best when the 1st valve slide is pulled out a tiny bit, maybe 1/8". Mine works especially well with a Curry 3BBC., a Wick 4, and a Bach 3, which cover most of the bases for me. Of course, you can stick a Bach 10-1/2C in it and sound like a trumpet, but that's not what these cornets are for.
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[Dale Proctor]

[Richard III]

[GeorgeB]