Boston Three Star accessories

fedjazz · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 9:07 am Post subject: Boston Three Star accessories

Yesterday I was fortunate to have been offered a one-owner, 1906 Boston Three Star cornet. I couldn't pass it up. It is a twin to my 1886 Boston, and came with a full set of accessories. The cornet and accessories are pictured below. Can someone verify my suspicions about the slides? The tuning slide installed in the cornet checks out to be the low pitch (Bb) slide. The tuning slide with the rotary valve sounds to me like it is a low pitch (Bb) switchable to high pitch. The other tuning slide (without the rotary valve) is high pitch (Bb) as it has the same pitch as with the rotary valve slide installed with the valve closed. The long leadpipe is for playing in A. This slide collection seems odd which is why I'm asking if I m correct. Also, does anyone have an idea what the item on the left is for? It was with the other things, and I've never seen anything like it before.
Marty Frankel

_________________
Boston 3 Star cornet - 1886
Getzen Eterna LB cornet - 1963
Conn New Wonder cornet - 1916

wvtrumpet · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 6:18 pm Post subject:

Sorry can't answer your questions, but that horn is one sexy beast!!!! Great Find!!!!!!!!!!!!
_________________
Freelance Performer/Teacher WV, PA, MD, and OH http://www.neil-king.com
Yamaha NY Bb, Adams F1 Flugelhorn, Schilke P5-4, Stomvi Eb/D Elite, Bach C 229 bell 25A, York Monarch cornet.

TrumpetGod · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:45 pm Post subject:

Wow. 1906, and in that condition? I have a baritone from 1906+ that looks about 5% that good...If you wouldn't have told me I would have thought it was brand new...

Sorry, I don't know anything about the slides. If it plays good there shouldn't be a problem though...
_________________
1942 King Cleveland Cornet
1968 King Tempo Cornet

tom turner · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:58 pm Post subject:

Hi,

If a horn is properly handled and cared for, by a responsible adult, there's no reason a silverplated or gold plated horn can't look this good after 100 years.

Naturally, most horns are purchased by kids who . . . well . . . who bang 'em around like I did 40+ years ago when I started playing.

A pristine Boston 3-Star will rival virtually anything made today, and it looks like fedjazz encountered a great one! Like pulling the tarp off an old car one finds on a farm . . . to discover a 1965 Shelby GT-350 Mustang underneath it with 3,000 original miles . . . a "low-miles" vintage horn can still "run" like new!

Naturally, a beater horn is like a worn out junkyard car, so one can't judge a vintage horn by the performance of a beater.

Here are my two 1911 Boston 3-Stars, in original silverplate. Each has it's full "kit" (extra slides, mouthpieces, lyres, and original cases in great shape). Mine are both restored by the noted Rich Ita . . . and they are awesome players indeed!

I had my favorite mouthpiece goldplated, and use it in both the Boston AND my modern, gold-plated Flip Oakes "Wild Thing" short cornet (the only cornet that's beaten my favorite Boston 3-Star).

Today, I've retired the Bostons and just use my "Wild Thing" on performances . . . but Doc Severensen still used his goldplated Boston that's the same model as mine, in his live performances.

Great horns, from any era, truly stand out!!!

(Double click the photo to enlarge) The silverplating is original, except a few touch up places on the bottom one.

Tom

fedjazz · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 5:40 am Post subject:

Hi Tom (and anyone else): Have you run across any research or anyone who has a Three-Star with that unusual tuning slide with the rotary valve? It would make more sense to me if it were a change from Bb to C or to A, but it seems to be a change from low pitch Bb to high pitch Bb. I can't imagine why a quick change from low to high pitch would be needed. It's also puzzling that the other extra tuning slide is high pitch Bb, duplicating the rotary. And does anyone have an idea what the item pictured on the left is for? Perhaps some kind of cleaning rod?
Marty Frankel
_________________
Boston 3 Star cornet - 1886
Getzen Eterna LB cornet - 1963
Conn New Wonder cornet - 1916

tom turner · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 7:52 pm Post subject:

Hi,

I suspect the extra tuning slide was an accessory slide, since you seem to have the standard HP and LP leadpipes too.

Heck, I've got all EIGHT different tuning slides for my goldplated Wild Thing trumpet . . . and imagine there were picky "nuts" back then too that would have gotten one of these. That's just a guess, of course.

The other accessory? I faintly remember seeing one of these sometime ago. I've been racking my brain what it was used for. I'll let you know if I remember . . . but HANG ONTO IT!

Sincerely,

Tom Turner

wardsd · Heavyweight Member Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Posts: 504

Great looking horn, Fedjazz!!! You too, Tom.

First, as far as condition, I think Fedjazz's horn was refinished. I have never seen one with satin silver and burnished engraving. Looks great, but my guess is it isn't original. Nothing wrong with that though!!

As for your accessories, I have seen the slide with the rotary before but don't own one. Therefore, I have never played with it. THE Boston expert has one, Robb Stewart, so you could call and ask him. Same with the other accessory on the left, which I have never seen before.

Now I will post some pictures of my single leadpipe Boston. it is a very low 1900x number, the oldest single leadpipe I have seen. One just sold on Ebay 19067 which is the same as mine. What is obvious is it is a different configuration than Tom's, so they must have changed the design. Notice Toms has a high pitch looking slide for the main tuning slide. There is a second slide though, and on his model they made a short one and long one for that slide to change between high and low pitch.

My Boston plays in A, Bb, and C. All Low pitch. You can see my main tuning slide looks like an old style low pitch slide. And my second tuning slide is short but has a rod for quick change to A. In addition, the C attachment can be put in place of the tuning slide.

Steve

JDWildcat · Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 5:06 am Post subject:

Very interesting! Mine is like Tom's, and I was unaware Boston made a different fixed lead pipe version. C, Bb and A, huh? Now I have something else to hunt down and add to the collection.

Thanks for posting the pics-great looking horn.
_________________
Bach Bb 180-37 Trumpet
Boston 3 Star Cornet
Conn New Wonder Cornet
Reynolds Contempora Cornet
Yamaha Xeno Eb Cornet

wvtrumpet · Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 5:31 am Post subject:

As someone who is a "novice" in the area of vintage horns, but really becoming interested....I must say these are some awesome horns guys....You are all very lucky, great instruments!
_________________
Freelance Performer/Teacher WV, PA, MD, and OH http://www.neil-king.com
Yamaha NY Bb, Adams F1 Flugelhorn, Schilke P5-4, Stomvi Eb/D Elite, Bach C 229 bell 25A, York Monarch cornet.

tom turner · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 6:23 pm Post subject:

Hi,

The main tuning slides on my two fixed leadpipe Bostons is NOT the large tuning slide facing the rear, as most assume! This is actually the SECONDARY tuning slide, and has a screw on fitting on the bottom leg of that SECONDARY tuning slide.

WHY THE SCREW ON FITTING?
It screws onto the lower pipe that the lower tuning slide leg goes into. When screwed in, it allows the secondary tuning slide to be pulled freely BUT it prevents the slide from being pulled out any further than it requires to lower the cornet to "A." This is a wonderful and novel approach and makes changing to "A" on the main tuning very fast indeed.

The main tuning slide is actually the SMALL one in front of the third valve slide, when viewing the cornet on the right side (as shown). This MAIN tuning slide thus allows the player to tune the horn to either HIGH PITCH . . . with the provided SHORTER main tuning slide . . . or the modern LOW PITCH (A=440) with the LONGER main tuning slide.

In either event, once the proper main tuning slide is inserted and tuned properly for the musician, the player can simply use his/her right thumb to push out the big SECONDARY tuning slide that faces the player on the right of the cornet to instantly drop the pitch to "A." Naturally, all valve slides would then need to be pulled slightly out, in correct proportion too, to finish accurate tuning of all notes in "A."

This was a fresh, new idea apparently, that came along about the time my two Bostons were made (#20091 and #20349).

Here are the two different MAIN tuning slides inserted into my Bostons:

JDWildcat · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 5:03 am Post subject:

Tom-

Very interesting. My Boston, which is a close contemporary of your higher numbered one, does not have the "quick change to A" feature, but otherwise looks the same as yours.
_________________
Bach Bb 180-37 Trumpet
Boston 3 Star Cornet
Conn New Wonder Cornet
Reynolds Contempora Cornet
Yamaha Xeno Eb Cornet

wardsd · Heavyweight Member Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Posts: 504

As you can see in my pictures above, mine is exactly opposite of Toms. It appears the earliest single leadpipe design used the small slide as the quick change to A slide, and the big slide as the main tuning slide. At some point they reversed that.

Steve

tom turner · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 10:02 am Post subject:

Ahhhhh . . . what an EXCITING time it must have been back then . . . when the creative types were STILL inventing and perfecting the instruments that we've come to love today.

It's been so many decades since the invention part of our brass instruments was still being done. We take for granted how certain models of today's instruments go virtually unchanged through the decades (except when ways are found to cut costs on an assembly line).

The love and excitement of collecting vintage brass instruments lies in the almost intoxicating thrill of discovering all the different varieties of experiments that one sees on vintage instruments vs. the boring sameness seen on most of today's S.O.S. stuff.

Sincerely,

Tom