Your favorite long/american style cornets?

[weezintrumpeteer]

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts on their favorite long/american style cornets out there. Shepherd crook / short cornets tend to get talked about the most (and I also love them), but I've become more and more curious about the long cornets.

I played a Bach long cornet (181) that belonged to my high school many years ago and I absolutely adored it. Tried to buy it several times and couldn't. I haven't played many long model cornets since then.

What are your favorites both vintage and new?
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'70 Selmer Radial
'70's Getzen Eterna Cornet
'47 Martin Committee Deluxe #3
'06 Monette B993

[McH]

I have a Getzen 300 which I find great for Dixieland but my favourite is my York Feathertouch Master cornet -- it does pretty much everything I need from a cornet although, I have to admit, I wouldn't say no to a Flip Oakes Wild Thing American or an Olds Super or a King Silversonic or a............

[stuartissimo]

Only ever played one long cornet so I suppose that would make the Olds Super cornet my favorite. 😊 It’s surely a looker, with the unusual wrap and the garland on the bell. It just screams ‘play me!’ somehow.

But honestly, I’ve struggled to find a use for it. Dixieland and small-combo jazz isn’t as big around here as it is in the USA. And it’s so similar in sound to my trumpet too. So I often end up using either my trumpet or my flugel. I occasionally use it when I want to travel light though, and when my trumpet wasn’t available.
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1975 Olds Recording trumpet
1997 Getzen 700SP trumpet
1955 Olds Super cornet
1939 Buescher 280 flugelhorn
AR Resonance mouthpieces

[Halflip]

[Andy Cooper]

Affordable and readily available.

If you are used to open blowing trumpets or use a large throat and or backbore on your trumpet mouthpiece -
Top of the list - Japanese Yamaha YCR 231 or YCR 2310. Very large bell with large bell throat. It's not the same design as the shepherds crook model. At least on the YCR 231, you can use Xeno metal valve guides as a step up. Open blowing with some spread.

Reynolds Medalist - after about 1965 they were .468 bore and later in production years they were the same as the Olds Ambassador except for trim and bracing.

If you are used to a trumpet blow like a 37/25 Bach, a 70's King student cornet. .458 bore - compact sound that will get you through a 2 hour 4th of July concert with a trumpet cup mouthpiece -and still sound like a sweet cornet. (Models with the valve spring on the outside of the stem.) While it makes feed-back more difficult, it really likes heavy valve caps, harmonic balancers etc. The only thing to watch - Kings often play more "cornetish" with mouthpieces that insert farther into the receiver.

You can generally count on all of the above cornets to have excellent valves and slides and be available for less than $150.00

OK - disclaimer - my favorite cornet is the Conn 80A style - but to play their best they usually need an expensive valve rebuild . I guess it's really a double shepherd's crook rather than a "straight" model anyway.

[Rwwilson]

I have only two long cornets, an Olds Super and a King Silvertone, as defined by the lack of a shepherd’s crook. The two are quite different. I often use the Olds with a trumpet style mouthpiece if I’m playing with a small group. The King is more versatile in that it can be made to play with a dark sound when using a deep cornet mouthpiece. I like both but prefer the King.

[Dale Proctor]

Bach 181, either ML or L bore, a Mt. Vernon or earlier Elkhart. Terrific cornets!
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[Oncewasaplayer]

I play traditional jazz and a long cornet can be a great tool in those settings. I like the Bach 181, King Master and Silvertones, Conn 80A and the Selmer cornets (uncommon to find). They all can be found refurbished and in good condition with a bit of searching and patience.
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Getzen 800DLX cornet
Selmer Sigma trumpet

[giakara]

I really like my 1968 Com Connstellation 38A and my 1928 Conn 81A Victor new wonder, both have a huge sound and are great for trad jazz settings.

Regards
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Lawler TL5-1A Bb 2015
Lawler TL6-1A Bb 2004
Lawler TL5-1A Bb 2003
Getzen eterna 910 C
Getzen eterna 850 cornet
Selmer Paris 3 valve picc
Yamaha 731 flugel
Carol mini pocket
Reeves/Purviance mpcs

[weezintrumpeteer]

Thanks for the replies all! We've got a good lit going.

I don't know if I just got a good one back in HS, but that 181 seems to be a fantastic cornet. I do remember playtesting all of them we had and choosing the one I ended up on - and I do vaguely recall some variation between them. But they all were good if my memory serves me.
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'70 Selmer Radial
'70's Getzen Eterna Cornet
'47 Martin Committee Deluxe #3
'06 Monette B993

[Subtropical and Subpar]

I'll second the Connstellation 38A. Huge sound and quite mouthpiece sensitive. Totally different horn with a Schilke 14A4x in it than a Monette B11, which in turn is a totally different horn than with a Yamaha David King.
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1936 King Liberty No. 2
1958 Reynolds Contempora 44-M "Renascence" C
1958 Olds Ambassador
1962 Reynolds Argenta LB
1965 Conn Connstellation 38A cornet
1995 Bach LR18072
2003 Kanstul 991
2011 Schilke P5-4 B/G
2021 Manchester Brass flugel

[Rogerrr]

Just got a 1961 38A Connstellation…love it
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Sax player learning cornet & trumpet...and occasionally a little bit of trombone.
( so don't confuse me with an experienced player )

[p76]

I'll second the YCR231/2310 as a really nice cornet - it's much better than the equivalent Yam shepherd's crook model.

I also love my Olds Ambassador....it's a bit like a tank, but a real solid core to the sound.

Cheers,
Roger
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Bb - Selmer Radial, Yamaha YTR634, Kanstul 1001, Kanstul 700.
C - Yamaha 641.
Cornet - Olds Ambassador A6T, Besson 723, Olds Ambassador Long.
Flugel - Kanstul 1525
Mpc. - ACB 3CS, ACB 3ES, Curry 3BBC, Kanstul FB Flugel

[iiipopes]

One item that is frequently overlooked is that the lead pipe of a typical cornet is longer than a typical trumpet lead pipe. So all these cornets with ML .459 or .460 bore trumpet valve blocks actually play smaller and are too bright for true cornet tone. The minimum bore for a long cornet should be no smaller than .462. I have a Cyborg .462 cornet (previously marketed as a King 603, and now as a Bach CR301H). It has a tighter trumpet flare bell and with a 3C mouthpiece is actually brighter than some trumpets. I'm having Mark Curry make me a cornet mouthpiece with a 3BC cup that will blend better with the trumpets I play with in a concert band setting. When I looked for a current American long cornet to go with my globe stamp Sovereign 921, this is the only current production American cornet that meets these criteria. Getzen makes a couple of models that have the larger bore, but they are also shepard's crook. Schilke calls their A1 a long cornet, although it also has a slight shepard's crook. But it also has the .460 valve block.
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King Super 20 Trumpet; Sov 921 Cornet
Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
Couesnon Flugelhorn and C trumpet

[nieuwguyski]

Back in college I had a Bach 181 on long-term exchange with a friend (he was borrowing a trumpet from me). That was a very nice cornet. Decades later I cleaned up a Mt. Vernon 181 with a 43 bell for someone who was going to sell it and that one impressed me even more (not enough to pay the asking price, though).

Current favorites in my collection are my '62 Olds Recording, '69 Conn 5A Victor, and '21 Conn 10A Vocal (which, in Bb, I prefer to the '23 80A).
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J. Notso Nieuwguyski

[Christian K. Peters]

Hello all,
Schilke A1 or A2C if you need one in C.
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Christian K. Peters
Schilke Loyalist since 1976

[chef8489]

The1965 H.N. White King silversonic that I just sold was pretty amazing. I only sold it because I needed to sell two horns to cover the cost of my new Bach trumpet. The conn 38a connstellation with coprion bell would be on my list as well.
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Current horns
2023 Bach 19072G/43 pipe with 1st trigger
1966 H.N. White King Silver Flair
1965 H.N. White King Super 20 Sllversonic Symphony 1st trigger

[iiipopes]

[spitvalve]

I played a school-owned Bach 181 in college that was superb. But I have to say that the 1964 Olds Ambassador cornet that I gave to my son punches way above its class and is a joy to play. It does everything that cornets are supposed to do and does it well.
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Bryan Fields
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1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1979 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
Eastlake Benge 4PSP piccolo trumpet
Warburton and Stomvi Flex mouthpieces

[Man Of Constant Sorrow]