Best cornet for Jazz

[bebop]

What do you cornet players think is the best cornet for jazz out there? I like to do plunger work , but I have short arms (not that short). So, I thought that a cornet would be much better for plunger work.
Jim

[jaysville]

Well as the cornet is unlikely to improvise for you, any cornet will do. If your arms are really that short get a shepherds crook model. Yamaha make a good ones. Warren Vache uses them.

[markp]

Often when you ask this question, people start telling you what horns great jazz players have used in the past.

Jim Cullum uses a Conn 80A, Warren Vache uses a Yamaha and Bobby Hacket played a Besson.

Although I've asked repeatedly here, no one seems to be able to tell the exact model Besson that Hacket used. Now would be a great time for someone to come forward with that tidbit of information.

Also, Warren Vache announced several months ago that he would soon be marketing a new cornet in cooperation with Dillon Music. I'm still waiting to hear more about that.

Other guys have highly recommended Getzen cornets. I owned a Wild Thing cornet for a while, but had to sell it. I still have some fantastic recordings of myself playing it. If I ever have the money, I'll grab another one in a heartbeat.

I'm currently waiting for my high school cornet, a Conn Connstellation with a Coprion bell to come back from being restored. It has a large bore and a huge sound. I'm counting on it to be my main jazz-playing cornet for a while.

[plp]

Mark, excellent choice. Those short model Connstellations are hard to beat for pretty much any type of playing situation.

[trpthrld]

Kanstul 1530 w/ a copper bell.

You'll fall in love it with on your 1st note.
_________________
Tim Wendt

www.trumpetherald.com/marketplace.php?task=detail&id=146827&s=The-Best-Trumpet-Lead-Pipe-Swab-EVER--

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPWAJqghk24&feature=youtu.be

[bunny]

Bobby played a lot of different cornets but kept coming back to the French Besson. He did play a Getzen quite a bit when they were giving him some p.r. Bix played Conn, Martin, Holton and then his famous Bach. Max Kaminsky played Conn. Rex Stewart had a lot too- Conn, King, wound up endorsing Reynolds. Ray Nance- Conn. Wild Bill Davison and Nat Adderley- King Master (Nat's with Silver bell). King Oliver and Louis had Harry B. Jay cornets- if you can find one.
All great players, all good horns.
I have three King masters and they have never let me down.

[A.N.A.Mendez]

I vote for the Mendez (long) Cornet. The Mendez trumpet is secretly used by some pros as the go to dark horn, the cornet is more so.....
_________________
"There is no necessity for deadly strife" A. Lincoln 1860

☛ "No matter how cynical you get, it's never enough to keep up" Lily Tomlin☚

[Winghorn]

On the video "The Trumpet Kings", hosted by Wynton Marsalis, Red Nichols is playing a Bach Strad cornet.
Regards
Steve Allison

[johnmarkpainter]

"Jazz" is such a wide label...

I had a 50's Olds Ambassador that when played with the original mouthpiece was a GREAT Dixieland horn.

Now I have an Olds Super that I mostly use for smooth mellow or Brass band type playing (with a traditional Stovepipe mouthpiece).

Basically, you just need a Cornet that plays in tune and find the correct mouthpiece for the tone you want.

jmp
_________________
49 Olds Super Trumpet
78 Benge 6 L Trumpet
59 Olds Super Cornet
72 Couesnon Flugel

[markp]

[hien peter]

we are quite happy with our Kong cornet.

I think it should be a lightweight model
to get a vivid sound over the registers.
heavyweights can be bit boring.

Peter
_________________
playing trumpet is like meditation

Strad H37 & G 7s
martin committee 1946
Weimann C, Strad C
Conn V1 FH & MB6

[jhatpro]

My 1955 Conn 80A Victor is pretty versatile. Can sound bright or mellow depending on the mouthpiece.
_________________
Jim Hatfield

"The notes are there - find them.” Mingus

2021 Martinus Geelan Custom
2005 Bach 180-72R
1965 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1946 Conn Victor
1998 Scodwell flugel
1986 Bach 181 cornet
1954 Conn 80A cornet
2002 Getzen bugle

[angelofmusic_81]

My Olds Recording definitely wears many hats. With my Curry C cup mouthpiece, it is one of the sweetest trumpet like sounds you can muster. The shallower/smaller the piece the brighter you're going to get. Somewhere in there you could find a great jazz combination. Absolutely wonderful for dixieland stuff.

On the other hand, with my DW4, its like absolute butter. This cornet can do it all, and if you're astute, you can find one for a very reasonable price. Snagged mine on ebay with a BIN of $325.
_________________
1978 Bach Stradivarius 25 w/ 25-O
2007 Bach Chicago C
1957 Olds Recording Cornet
~1910's Barendsen C/Bb/A (William Frank)

[giakara]

Getzen makes the standart "jazz" cornets for many years now , try the 800LB and the the same model with copper bell and the custom model with copper , rose brass or yellow brass bell is the most playing cornets on the jazz world.

Regards
_________________
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

[Wrms]

Through the years I've used for trad/swing combos a Conn 80A a Bach 181 (37) a Boston 3 Star (an early separate leadpipe model) and several others not worth mentioning. As well as a gaggle of trumpets.

The Boston wasn't the ticket for for a main jazz horn because it was difficult to get different tones whilst playing. Beautiful sound but I couldn't brighten up when needed and it didn't project as easily as the other two. It gets used on a regular basis for small room background type stuff and all of those theme and variations 1800s and early 1900s tunes.

The Bach works well and has the best valves of these three horns. It has the best intonation and I can move the tone around when I need to. although the bright sound that I can push this to isn't as bright as the Conn (what cornet is as bright as an 80A when it's being pushed?) The Bach is fine in all situations, however, when I play jazz I bend and swoop and otherwise move the notes around and the Bach's slots are tighter than I would like. It gets used primarily for an all around jazz back up for the Conn. It's my cornet of choice for a recital and wind ensemble cornet.

My favorite jazz horn is the Conn (although I'm having a very slight and annoying problem with the valves right now). The tone is easily manipulable and the slots are, well, a bit sloppy. The brightness is appropriate and I can get it smoky also. I would never use this horn for anything classical but for me it's the stud of the stable when it comes to the way I play jazz.

Mark
_________________
A bunch of trumpets
and
A bunch of cornets

[GenoValet]

Obviously by the time this thread is thru, every cornet on the planet will likely be somebodies fav. The real answer is, 'try a bunch; keep the one you like best.' I have 2: Marcinkiewicz (IMHO best all around cornet made today, but $$$$$) & a CONN 9A Coprion. I use them both, the latter more for those short, 1 set, gigs where I don't want to drag a tpt, flugel & cornet along.

[Wrms]

While it is correct to say that many players have a favorite it is not particularly helpful to anyone if we don't know why it's your favorite.

If you think that a horn (or mouthpiece or piece of music) is great, tell us why. Speaking to this thread, the OP is not specific as to what form of jazz to speak to. If you have a suggestion for a cornet for jazz tell us what form of jazz and why it's a good fit. Otherwise there will be no information that's helpful beyond taking a poll.

This is a bit of a sore spot with me.

Mark
_________________
A bunch of trumpets
and
A bunch of cornets

[nieuwguyski]

If your goal is to use a cornet, as a replacement for a trumpet, for plunger work, you're probably looking for a rather bright cornet. My first suggestion isn't a cornet at all: try to find a DeNicola Puje. It's a hybrid of trumpet and cornet characteristics, taking a trumpet mouthpiece and having a standard trumpet-style tuning slide, but also featuring a shepherd's-crook bell and an extra (thumb-tunable) loop in the bell tail that shortens the horn.

As far as bright cornets, Rex Stewart played a King Master cornet in the Ellington band and held his own. The Conn 80A Victor is a bright, projecting cornet, but isn't that much shorter than a trumpet, so I'd suggest trying one before buying. The Conn 37A/38A Connstellation is a solid choice, as is the 5A Victor. The Bach Strad 181 should be in the running too. If money is no object, Eclipse makes a short trumpet called the Equinox and Flip Oakes offers a long-model cornet.
_________________
J. Notso Nieuwguyski

[BSTRUMPET85]

Getzen

[tom turner]

Hi,

Cornet player/performers are much like trumpet player/performers . . . over their lifetime they generally own quite a few horns. Thus it is really hard to say specifically which horn was the "one" they used.

As one example . . .

When Warren Vache hooked up with Yamaha a quarter of a century ago or so, he SWITCHED naturally to a Yamaha cornet . . . and played it forever. However, as a 25-year old phenom, he played a wonderful Benge cornet from the late 60's to early '70s in manufacture. He went to the Yamaha when he became an artist for them for a while.

Here's a 25-year old Warren playing his Benge:

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/warren%2Bvache/video/x17bf4_after-youve-gone-warren-vache/1


As far as which cornet various posters play today and why I can only give you my slant.

My favorite long cornet has always been the Reynolds Argenta (large bore version). I own one from '61 and it screams. Silky valves, built really well and a wonderful blowin' cornet indeed. I also have a pristine '39 80A that plays like a dream . . . but it's a bright, projecting little sucker!

However, I much prefer the short cornets w/ deep-V mouthpieces for my cornet playing and I've played a lot of 'em through the years. The best I've ever played is the Flip Oakes "Wild Thing."

I was performing on a marvelous-playing, later-model, fixed-leadpipe Boston 3-Star (restored by Rich Ita w/ rebuilt valves from Andersons) when I got to play a Wild Thing short cornet at a cornet collectors annual get-together. After I played the Wild Thing I HAD to have it . . . and I bought it from Flip.

That was in 2002 and I'm as much enthralled with the horn today as I was back then when I played it. I truly wasn't looking to buy another cornet back then . . . but when you encounter such an exceptional horn . . . you've gotta buy it! Expensive sure, but they are that good!

Here's my personal baby . . . actually, my favorite high brass horn of any type, ever:



Tom