Best vintage trumpet for $350?

[jhatpro]

Hard to beat Conn Victors.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255025509024?hash=item3b60b472a0:g:4GMAAOSw5bZg0WZ1
_________________
Jim Hatfield

"The notes are there - find them.” Mingus

2021 Martinus Geelan Custom
2005 Bach 180-72R
1965 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1946 Conn Victor
1998 Scodwell flugel
1986 Bach 181 cornet
1954 Conn 80A cornet
2002 Getzen bugle

[musicmork]

I had one of those.

It played nice and was a gorgeous horn.

I think I paid $400.00 for it.
_________________
MARK /aka "musicmork"/ aka " The Creator "
TRUMPET: Getzen , Olds
MOUTHPIECES Bach 3-C, Schilke 13a4a
CORNET: Holton Galaxy (Awesome horn)
KEYBOARDS: Kurzweil PC88MX,Yamaha S-30, Casio Privia 575R

[J.D. Heckathorn]

Late to this thread but I echo this comment and would add that a Conn 12B is another one to look out for in the $350 range. As others have said condition is a big variable with 70 year old horns but if you can snag one (especially pre-1941) it’s a great horn.

The 2B is honestly a sleeper, I recorded my entire last album with it and it is very similar to a NY Bach in terms of playability. This one you want the pre-1940 redesign without the trigger it’s a very different horn and I prefer the 8B Gustat to that one. Good luck!

[JHirakawa]

Odd enough I have a Conn 80A Victor. I was looking for a trumpet for my daughter and a friend gave it to me it. We were in the same Drum and Bugle Corps in the 60's and he played it in High School. He thought it was a trumpet, but it is a 80A Victor cornet. I got my 1947 Conn 22b from Ebay for $100. It looked like hell, was really dirty, but had no dents and very good valves. I took the lacquer off and it cleaned up really nice. Picked up a 1969 Olds Custom Crafted P-10 for about $125 off of Craigs List. It was the highest priced Olds at the time, designed as a lightweight Mendez. The lady was selling it because her band director said it played like crap. It was very clean, minor lacquer wear, no dents, nice valves that were way out of alignment. The pads were way too thick. Recently picked up a 1947 Holton 48 for $300 from a Goodwill auction. I got a Martin Handcrafted Standard off of Ebay once. Didn't pay much for it. I didn't like how it played so I flipped it. My best buy was a Kanstul French Besson Classic b-flat. It was my first Ebay purchase ever. I was the only bidder at $499. Almost mint condition and came with a Kanstul double horn case. The posting only described it as a Besson trumpet. I knew what it was from the photos. It plays like a very good Bach 37. I got my 1948 Chicago Benge at a local estate sales for $1,000, and my Kanstul French Besson c trumpet off Ebay for $750, old stock, unused condition, buy it now. Both are out of your price range, but still good deals. There are deals to be had if you are patient, lucky, and do your homework. Good luck.
_________________
Kanstul FB Classic b-flat&C
'42 Buescher 205
'45 Martin Committee
'48 Chi Benge
'47 Conn 22b
'69 Olds Custom Crafted
'47 Holton 48
'64 Bach Strad Cornet
'62 Olds Spl Cornet
'64 Conn 80a
'54 Conn 34a
Benge flugel
Olds, DEG Bugles

[jeirvine]

[Brassnose]

I just missed a Getzen Capri cornet in perfect state for 280 EUR and a Getzen 300 trumpet good shape for 85 EUR (yes, you DID read that right). Good deals do pop up but it’s a matter of patience.
_________________
2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier

[Yamahaguy]

Found a 1955 Olds Super in excellent condition for $375

[stuartissimo]

Calculating for inflation, that would be less than $350.

But more seriously, nice find!
_________________
1975 Olds Recording trumpet
1997 Getzen 700SP trumpet
1955 Olds Super cornet
1939 Buescher 280 flugelhorn
AR Resonance mouthpieces

[Manuel de los Campos]

Besson London Academy Bb trumpet in very good technical condition.
€250.-

Very good instrument, use it now for classical work
_________________
Technology alone is a poor substitute for experience. (Richard Sachs)

[JHirakawa]

Old Conn horns are plentiful, under-valued on the used market, and built like tanks. The Crysteel valves are almost bullet proof.
_________________
Kanstul FB Classic b-flat&C
'42 Buescher 205
'45 Martin Committee
'48 Chi Benge
'47 Conn 22b
'69 Olds Custom Crafted
'47 Holton 48
'64 Bach Strad Cornet
'62 Olds Spl Cornet
'64 Conn 80a
'54 Conn 34a
Benge flugel
Olds, DEG Bugles

[taylordiving]

Having been exactly in your shoes once upon a time (a hard limit of $350 and on the lookout for pro horns) I consistently found the following:

Conn 22b (everywhere!)
Olds Special
Reynolds Professional

I have seen other deals on better horns in that price range occasionally but as far as something you could consistently find at any time I would suggest one of those three. As far as which one that is a very individual question so I bought all three over time and worked out that I actually liked none of them but did prefer the Olds if forced to choose.

Happy hunting!
_________________
Calicchio 1s7
Yamaha 8310Z
Reynolds Leonard Smith Contempora
1941 & 1942 Olds Supers
Getzen Eterna Cornet
Yamaha 8315G Flugel

[Stradbrother]

Old King Liberties can be great players and they are very well made. Especially the pre-1950s models.

They are tough to play well today though, many of them have tiny bores and tiny bells compared to what we grow up playing today.
_________________
Getzen 3051 Custom
Kanstul California 101
XO 1624 C
Bach 183 Flugelhorn
Bach LB 229 Eb/D Long Bell
Bach 184 Cornet
Kanstul 920

[ljnev]

Another vote for vintage Conn 22b (not the modern student model of the same designation), 12b, or 2b. King Liberty is another good one. Good luck!

[JHirakawa]

Here is a photo of 4 vintage trumpet that I managed to collect. The Olds, Holton, and Conn were relatively cheap. I paid $1,000 for the Chicago Benge at a local estate sales. All were in pretty good shape when I got them. Exceptionally nice valves and slides, very good compression. The Conn 22b was the cheapest of the lot from Ebay for $100. The lacquer looked really bad in the photos so I was the only bidder. I took off the lacquer using hot water and elbow grease. I got the Olds Custom Crafted off of Craigs list for $125. The valve pads were way too thick which made the valves way out of alignment. Think that's why the owner was dumping it. Don't think she knew the Custom Crafted horns were the top of the Olds' line back in the day. I got the Holton 48 from a Goodwill auction for just less than $300. Goodwill can be a crap shoot. I got lucky. Only had to have a bell brace resoldered and one small dent removed from the bell. That's it. But for some reason the finger buttons shafts were too short for the ports to align when the valves were depressed. Somehow the wrong buttons were put on in the past. Fortunately I just happened to have an extra set of valve buttons that aligned the ports perfectly. The Benge looked amazing when I saw it at a local estate sales. I only had to have a tuning slide tube resoldered and a couple of small dents removed. I use a cheap $20 boroscope to check valve alignment. It's common to find valves that are out of whack. There are deals to be had, and I find it therapeutic to tinker on an old horn once in a while. Good hunting. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:4_Vintage_Trumpets.jpg
_________________
Kanstul FB Classic b-flat&C
'42 Buescher 205
'45 Martin Committee
'48 Chi Benge
'47 Conn 22b
'69 Olds Custom Crafted
'47 Holton 48
'64 Bach Strad Cornet
'62 Olds Spl Cornet
'64 Conn 80a
'54 Conn 34a
Benge flugel
Olds, DEG Bugles

[JHirakawa]

[JHirakawa]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Benge_%26_Holton_Trumpets.jpg

I usually avoid bidding on the Goodwill Auction site. Items are sold as-is; usually in bad condition, sparce descriptions that are often just wrong, bad photos, and bidders seem to over bid more often than not. I check the site out once and a while when I have idle time at the coffee shop. The thing that perked me on the top trumpet in the photo, besides being a Holton Model 48, was the 3rd valve slide stop assembly. It had all the parts! That's very rare for a 75 year-old horn. It even had two tiny o-rings next to the nuts. I thought the owner must have cared and I was right. The lacquer was ugly, but that was a plus in my eyes. That could scare off other bidders. When I got the horn, a bell brace was loose, and there was a small crease in the bell. Easy fixes. It had no other problems; clean, no other dents, no rot, good valves and slides, very good compression, all for less than $300 including shipping. The 3rd valve slide stop assembly was a huge tell in this case. It told me the owner cared for the horn. My 1948 Benge also had all the parts to the slide stop and it was in great shape too. Both trumpets are in the photo. Noticing things like that can give you an edge. Life is good. Life with music is better.
_________________
Kanstul FB Classic b-flat&C
'42 Buescher 205
'45 Martin Committee
'48 Chi Benge
'47 Conn 22b
'69 Olds Custom Crafted
'47 Holton 48
'64 Bach Strad Cornet
'62 Olds Spl Cornet
'64 Conn 80a
'54 Conn 34a
Benge flugel
Olds, DEG Bugles

[Brassnose]

Another three (!) Getzen Capri cornets that went for 240 EUR. I hesitated a little too long (again).
_________________
2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier