Unusual picc on ebay

nextbrassguy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Posts: 1428

Looks like Couesnon got the idea for the Yamaha 9820 before Yamaha did:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41397&item=3718435329&rd=1

samlg · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 1:00 pm Post subject:

they are gorgeous little trumpets, id love to have one like that just to look at!

sam

trumpetmike · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 1:57 pm Post subject:

That's the first one of those I have seen with that third valve addition. I wonder if that was an original feature?

Without the addition it is the same style as was used on Penny Lane. I have played a couple of that model and own a short model one - lovely instruments, fantastic sound. A great piccolo to use with students wanting their first piccolo experience.

nextbrassguy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Posts: 1428

Yeah, it would be interesting to know the history of this particular horn!

heavyharmonies · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:03 pm Post subject:

Well, I won the horn. We'll see how it turns out. It actually went for less than I thought it might, so I'll probably have enough to do an overhaul and bit of cleanup on that repair. I'd love to find out more information about its history...

-Dan

nextbrassguy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Posts: 1428

Yeah, that is a good price for unique piece like this. Congrats! I hope you like it.
Times like this I'm really sorry Couesnon lost their records in that fire. FWIW, see:

http://www.dallasmusic.org/gearhead/Couesnon%3F.html%20

trumpetmike · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 12:07 am Post subject:

Was tempted to bid on this, but I already have three piccolos and am saving for another (Blackburn!!), couldn't justify it to myself.

Already owning a Couesnon helped my decision as well - why do I need two?

Hope you enjoy it, let us know how it plays.

heavyharmonies · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:37 am Post subject:

Seems like pricewise (on Ebay at least), piccs fall into one of several categories:

Trash. (India, Amati, Monique, Marcus Martini, Maestro, Laval, E.M. Winston?), falling at the $400 range and below. Oddly enough, quite a few of these tend to sell in the ~$250-300 range. Is it because of the huge price jump to get to supposedly legitimate entry-level piccs?
Mid-range. (Benge, Selmer, Getzen, Bach), ranging from $800 to $1,200. Someone got a real nice BIN on a Strad for $600 from the same seller I got my Meha Bb from.
Professional/Top level. (Schilke, Scherzer, Lawler, Kanstul, Yamaha?), usually $1,500+, although there's a short-model Yamaha Custom languishing with a $800 BIN.
Unsure. (Blessing, Couesnon, ???). Range from $400-800 depending. There's a Blessing Artist with a $400 BIN that no one has touched.

This Couesnon may end up falling in that first category; won't know until I get it. I notice that an earlier auction for a Couesnon picc without the rotary valve mechanism with a relatively close S/N went for $500, although that horn had the "Conservatoires" designation in addition to "Monopole" (not sure if that is relevant).

Doing some reading online it appears that Couesnon's consistency was poor. They made gems as well as some poor horns. I had a "Monopole Conservatoires" Eb/D that had absolutely HORRIBLE intonation that I eventually ended up selling, but I've read more than a few accounts of people loving the Couesnon piccs. So depending on who was doing the building that day, this may be a keeper or a klunker.

This horn may be prove more difficult to research than the Meha, especially given the lack of original records, plus there does not seem to be as much overall player/collector interest in the Couesnon horns...

-Dan

[ This Message was edited by: heavyharmonies on 2004-04-23 06:39 ]