Inspirational horn

[Ridgebach]

I recently introduced myself over in the lounge and if you are curious a fuller recap can be seen there. It’s not riveting. Apologies in advance if this post is long-winded.

Short horn history is I started on my dad’s 1950 Conn 80A 4th thru 7th grade in the mid 70’s and from then through college on a new Bach Strad thanks to in part to the suggestion of our awesome band teacher and of course the influence of Maynard & Doc. Sparkling silver horns were de rigueur in the late 70s.

After a very long hiatus I’m feeling the pull to get into it again just for the simple pleasure of playing at home. In a nutshell I’d describe my experience with the Conn as quirky and with the Strad as very “good”. It excelled where the Conn had limitations in intonation, not as easy to play, and valves a tad sluggish. Dare I say the Strad for me was, don't get me wrong they are of course a fine instrument, but a bit sterile and not particularly inspiring IMO. I always felt like I was playing a fine symphony horn and holding something out of my mom’s fine sterling collection. Of course as kids we were drawn to the flash Gonna Fly Now sound of a the time. Now I’m listening to hard bop ala Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard. This is my reference sound.

Admittedly I’m drawn to things (cars, guitars, etc) with a more raw and worn-in finish with perhaps unusual touches. I’d love to find a horn that begs to be picked up and played as much as it plays well and is easy to play and with a round, warm sound.

Based on all that I’m hoping to get suggestions on what horns to consider and where to look. I budgeted approx $2500 in hopes of finding something approaching the “one”. Anything from a vintage Blessing to a new Adams. Thanks all.

[Dayton]

Baltimore Brass has a (used) Lawler C7 in stock. Those are sweet horns. Might be along the lines of what you are looking for. Good luck!

[Andy Cooper]

You didn't say what mouthpiece you are using on the Conn 80A - for that cornet - mouthpiece is kind of important since it has a valve bore of .485.

While you are looking for the perfect trumpet - you could get a lot of good out of the Conn 80A with a better mouthpiece and either some Denis Wick valve oil with Teflon or some Graphenoil Valve Oil.

I mention this since I play a good bit on a 1921 80A style cornet that I had resorted in 1990. I still have it, while a dozen or so trumpets have occupied my other trumpet stand. I play the cornet like a trumpet and use a trumpet cup with a smaller than normal backbore (Warburton KT or #6) I have no intonation problems with that set up.

For a trumpet that meets your requirements you might try to find a used Bach Vindabona or in a vintage horn - the Olds Recording model. With vintage horns you need to be careful of valve compression.

[kehaulani]

Getzen Eterna Classic
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[Ridgebach]

Thanks Dayton and kehaulani. I’ll look in to those.

Andy. It’s a Bach 3C mouthpiece.

[Rhondo]

2nd reference today for me to Steve Dillard at horntrader.com. I have no connection there, but he plays a lot of his used horns on YouTube under his website name and talks about them as well. Master level player and very knowledgeable. Tons of uploads, as many were posted years ago.

In general you can find a lot of players online playing horns they’ve either reviewed or posted a video of advertising the horn to sell. Of course a weak player can make a good horn sound bad, and vice versa.

That said, I’ve heard Bach Strads played that didn’t at all sound ‘sterile’, and not all of them are shiny silver.
Here’s a guy who was selling one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA2wubOPOsw

[Subtropical and Subpar]

Kanstul 991, aka the Kanstullation. Based very heavily on the Connstellation 38B - .439 bore, wide wrap, big bell, copper leadpipe (no redrot concerns), first slide trigger, point-to-point bracing, etc. The Kanstul is silver-plated whereas the Conn was nickel-plated, but that's the only major change. Supremely efficient and easy to play, nicely mouthpiece sensitive, with a very easy upper register, and a lot of the hard bop players you mentioned played either the Conn 38B, its smaller-belled cousin the 36B, or the lightweight variant 8B.

There are a few currently for sale on the famous auction website for your price point. I'm never selling mine!
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1932 King Silvertone cornet
1936 King Liberty No. 2 trumpet
1958 Reynolds Contempora 44-M "Renascence" C
1962 Reynolds Argenta LB trumpet
1965 Conn 38A
1995 Bach LR18072
2003 Kanstul 991
2011 Schilke P5-4 B/G
2021 Manchester Brass flugel

[Brassnose]

I’d second anything that’s wide-wrap Conn. While I really like my Bach and still use it for power-play gigs, my 6B is easier to play and has a better intonation, too.

Love the Blessing Super Artists for their power and style, too. I think there is one on Reverb right now but beware, they are very open horns and require good air support.

Played my teachers Olds Special and Selmer Radial the other day. Both nice horns with style.

Lots of great Bachs available, too. They come in lacquer, raw brass, etc. If looking for a Bach, I’d look for an early Elkhart 25, 43, or 43* (just because, and that’s just me — not a fan of the 37), a Mariachi, maybe a Commercial, or the new Apollo model.

Two modern horns that are on my wish list are the X-13 and a Del Quadro (model tbd). I did play the X-13 at a shop awhile back and really enjoyed it. Also played a DQ at Dillons a few years ago and was dumb enough not to buy it.

Or you could get a horn you like and have it customized to your likings.
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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

[stuartissimo]

[Ridgebach]

A followup. I ultimately decided on an Austin Winds Stage 470LT by Kanstul with bronze bell. Lovely horn and I dig the sound and feel. Experimenting with mouthpieces now. Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful input!!

One strange thing off the top however is that, even have played several mouthpieces, I'm consistently a bit bit flat on every note despite having the tuning slide at minimum. On the Conn I was pretty spot on with the tuning slide about 1/2" extended. I can't see lipping in every note. Thoughts? Can this be remedied?

[Rhondo]

If you’re starting back up after a long layoff that could be the reason?

[Ridgebach]