What is the best student / starter cornet?

royjohn · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2005 9:16 pm Post subject:

What about a York Professional? You could probably find one on Ebay and have it dedented, spot plated and then go for a valve rebuild for under $600 total. Bingo, practically new and collectible. My local guy did two Yorks (de-dent and spot plate) for $80 each. A valve rebuild from Anderson is $210 retail. That leaves you about $310 to get the horn on Ebay, which should be very do-able if not too many people read this post.
Ask Tom Turner about vintage and new cornets of this type. I think he will say that the Boston Three Star is tops in the vintage department with the York a close second. I believe he is now playing a Flip Oakes cornet and likes it a bit better than these two, but that is outside your price range.
Just another opinion.
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royjohn
Trumpets: 1928 Holton Llewellyn Model, 1957 Holton 51LB, 2010 Custom C by Bill Jones, 2011 Custom D/Eb by Bill Jones
Flugels: 1975 Olds Superstar, 1970's Elkhardt, 1970's Getzen 4 valve
Cornet: 1970's Yamaha YCR-233S . . . and others . . .

Lo · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 2:05 pm Post subject:

I have heard many great things about Rich Ita's rebuilt cornets. He does a Ambassador fix up, putting a shepard's crook (usually Yamaha), into it and has a silver plate put on it. I think its about 650?

jonscott14 · Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:16 am Post subject: what about a besson 700

what about a besson 700 - a good cornet with one trigger (3rd valve) it's not very expensive ( here in britain anyway although i may be out of your price range - i'm no good at conversions on the spot) it is more of an intermediate cornet but maybe it's a good idea to get a intermediate instrument so when you proggress you dont need to buy a new one to suit you'r standard. - dont buy one before joining the band though - as the band might be a band that provides instruments-sounds a silly mistake to make but i happens alot - just make sure. i've got a besson 700 from the band i play in at the moment- and although old and a little dented it still works fine.
good luck finding the new instrument!

shastastan · Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 2:13 pm Post subject:

Hi. I've had my Yamaha 2330II for over a week and I think that its a great horn for a less experienced/amateur player. The tone is way better than my trumpet. The cornet is easy to blow and has a rich sound--even with my sh_tty embrochure. The mp that came with it, 11E4, seemed a little weird at first, but now I'm pretty used to it except for the cookie-cutter rim. I really lucked out on that ebay deal. It is truly like new and not even a scratch on the case! I'm glad I didn't wait for something else. But hey, you could get a much better deal than mine by waiting and watching, so again good luck on your quest.

Stan

Angultra · Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:19 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the input, Stan.

I'll probably be keeping an eye out for the Yamahas if I can't get my hands on a good Getzen Capri or Eterna. As for restoring a vintage cornet, I don't think I'll go that route, as I'm looking for a cornet that has a quality sound right out of the case, without the need for repairs or refinishing. The Bessons also look promising...does anyone know of any online Besson dealers in the US or Canada?

Andrew

shastastan · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:21 am Post subject:

Gee I would think that there would be dealers in Canada or here in the southern colonies. Did you try Google or Froogle searches?

I agree with you about restoring a vintage horn. I wanted a horn to play right away rather than having to send it out to be restored. I'm just really thankful that I found what I wanted.

I was agonizing over those Getzens, too, but I knew that I really didn't need a pro horn at my level. I had a Getzen when I played back in the school days but it was just an entry level horn. If I continue to improve, I may try for one in a couple of years. Right now I'm just trying to get the mp situation squared away. Bon chance.

Stan