Really Worn, but plays GREAT! Who has one?!?

[MBone1968]

Over the years I have played a lot of horns over years and I am always amazed that the ones that are very worn/beat looking play GREAT! I suppose that's how they got that way - well loved for all the right reasons!

My Conn 78H and 20H are my favorites and have run circles around other "low mileage" professional horns.

[Kingfan]

I picked up my Holton TR180 about 30-35 years ago from a pawn shop wall for $90. It had marching band music in the case! I had to replace the slide tubes and case but left the bell section untouched. No pretty, but played like a dream. Wish I still had it.

[Finetales]

I have some truly horrific looking instruments that play great. How it plays is all that matters!

[spencercarran]

I picked up my Holton TR180 about 30-35 years ago from a pawn shop wall for $90. It had marching band music in the case! I had to replace the slide tubes and case but left the bell section untouched. No pretty, but played like a dream. Wish I still had it.

My 180 is also a veteran of marching band abuse. It's got some battle scars, but it plays!

[GabrielRice]

My late 60s Bach 50 is no beauty queen, with scars from previous repairs. It plays great.

My 1940 Conn 70H is well-used but never abused. It also plays great.

[Kevbach33]

Both my old horns (6H and 168) play great for me despite their wear. Neither are real beauty queens.

[CalgaryTbone]

My early 50's Conn 8H is a great horn, with some "mileage" on it. It is a player, with a two-tone lacquer finish on the bell where the previous owner had the flare spray-lacquered after a repair. The bell stem finish is darker.

I got to drag out my Conn 72H (with a plug-in 2nd valve) for a Christmas Big Band concert in late December, because the regular player came down with covid that morning. That horn really has some "mileage" on it, but it has such a great sound! Any issues with it were far more due to my tenor trombone (and vacation) chops trying to produce some low B's and pedal notes loud enough to make it to the first row of the audience! The 72H's bell looks like it spent time in a war zone, but it still vibrates when you play.

Jim Scott

[hyperbolica]

My 79h, 32h, Olds Recording and Flugabone have no lacquer and some dings. The first 3 play great but look like crap. I've had lots of ugly horns that play great. People mostly want to buy horns with lacquer while ugly Recordings that play great sell cheap.

Slides can be missing a lot of plating before it affects their action. I don't have as many slides with bad plating, but I've got a couple. They don't scare me.

Interestingly, my 68 88h and 50's 8h have original lacquer that looks great. The 88h was used hard through high school, college, and 4 years in the Navy. Some horns lose lacquer faster than others, must be humidity on spraying day or something.

[Sander]

For me one horn stands out.

A '72 Conn 48H Connstellation.
It looks worn, with really rough patches on the slide, some patches of lacquer missing on the handgrip and handslide.
Next to that, it really looks as if it has been used thoroughly, and boy has it been used.
I love it, need to dry it down after playing to stop the inner slide wear as much as I can, but a little Yamasnot and it runs smooth and amazing again!

[EriKon]

I have an old Conn 24H that was Dick Nash's horn. It's really worn and old and you can barely see anything of the engraving. But it plays and sounds wonderful! Really in love with this instrument, although I don't play it that often.

[Mamaposaune]

I had a Conn 76H Century post-Elkhart horn (.522 bore, 8 1/2" bell) that I used for parades and as an occasional loaner for my students. It looked as if it had been beaten and brought back to life many times over, and sported an ugly patch on the bell throat. But it played easily with a big sound with lots of overtones.

[ithinknot]

I have an old Conn 24H that was Dick Nash's horn. It's really worn and old and you can barely see anything of the engraving. But it plays and sounds wonderful! Really in love with this instrument, although I don't play it that often.

Noice!!! Is it one of the late lightweight slide versions?

'Barely any engraving' might not just be wear - seems like getting bells buffed down to a lighter weight was an LA thing...

[EriKon]

I have an old Conn 24H that was Dick Nash's horn. It's really worn and old and you can barely see anything of the engraving. But it plays and sounds wonderful! Really in love with this instrument, although I don't play it that often.

Noice!!! Is it one of the late lightweight slide versions?

'Barely any engraving' might not just be wear - seems like getting bells buffed down to a lighter weight was an LA thing...

Could be, it definitely feels like a lw slide. I'm not an expert on this horns and the history of them. I'll try to share some pictures tomorrow, so maybe you can tell me more about it.

[TrryReynolds]

My current small horn is a Bach 12 from mid-late 80’s. I was playing on a 2b liberty and I played everything small/used on the wall at Dillon to choose a replacement. Someone with mega-strong sweat glands owned this horn- the part that contains the serial number was actually replaced! Someone was considerate enough to “dremel” the serial number into the replacement part. I enjoy playing it, but I visit Dillon every couple of months and I’m often switching my small horn…

[TrryReynolds]

Edit- sorry; looks like I’m double posting every time. Will look into it

[craign]

I have a 70s 3B/F I picked up cheap that has beat up orange lacquer, the bell section maybe isn't quite straight (mostly the F attachment, I think, as E pull slide is a bit stuck), main slide could do with a little work but is probably an 8/10 with Yamaha. It sounds pretty great though IMHO, but seems there aren't many 3B/F around that people dislike (even beat up ones).

[MrHCinDE]

I‘ve got a Bach Mercedes which I picked up for not much cash. It seems to be a .525“ with 8“ 2-piece bell. The tuning slide is interchangeable with my Bach 42, which is nice. As far as I know, it was retired after decades of service in a church Posaunenchor.

Cosmetically it‘s a mixed bag, lots of lacquer wear but there seem to be some chromed out parts also like a Holton.

The slide is pretty rough and needs regular attention to keep it moving well.

I actually quite like the way it blows and sounds though, even preferring it to the Bach 36 I‘ve owned. For my tastes it has a great medium bore sound.

My best effort of a descriptions is that the overall design and dimensions are similar to a Bach 36 but with a 2-piece bell.

Once I‘ve finished some other projects I‘ve got in the pipeline, I may invest a couple of hundred € to get the slide improved. For now it‘s my bad weather or tiny stage horn and spare tuning slide holder.

[timbone]

If your horn is original it could command a higher price based on its patina! That’s what the car people are doing! I have a 59’ 8H that looks like crap- both crooks totally banged up, plating missing on the slide but boy does it play! And there sure are a lot of conns on this thread lol