Looks like an older King Liberty (early 1940's?) someone on Facebook marketplace is selling - they are asking $100 which is sort of reasonable... (might as well be free for how far away it is from me) I'm sure it'd take a decent amount of work at my local trombone tech to get into decent shape. (At least $150 for basic cleanup, ultrasonic cleaning, slide alignment, etc... plus maybe another $100 for any misc stuff is my complete guess at this point - assuming all the components are not too corroded to work and the slide is not completely shot)
Is the worn lacquer or corrosion a concern? I'm about a 4+ hour drive from this person.... so an 8 hour trip to get a project trombone doesn't seem like a wise use of time...
Are these any good when they are fully restored? If this were fully restored would it be comparable to a 2B or just not as good in general as a 2B?
Old King Liberty - worth a 4 hour drive to get and restore?
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ryebrye
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Old King Liberty - worth a 4 hour drive to get and restore?
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Burgerbob
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Re: Old King Liberty - worth a 4 hour drive to get and restore?
Looks salvageable to me. Make a trip out of it!
Aidan Ritchie, LA area player and teacher
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CharlieB
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Re: Old King Liberty - worth a 4 hour drive to get and restore?
The horn is assembled improperly, so the seller is not a trombonist. Sometimes that can be a bit of a red flag.
Visually, the horn looks undamaged, so slide corrosion from long-term storage would be the major concern.
I would ask the seller to remove the outer slide and send a photo of the inner tubes.
Are these any good when they are fully restored? If this were fully restored would it be comparable to a 2B or just not as good in general as a 2B?
The Liberty series of trombones had both inner slide tubes of 0.481" diameter. It was replaced by the Liberty 2B, which had one tube of 0.481", and one tube of 0.491" diameter. The 2B is generally considered a more desirable horn. The 0.481" horn was popular in the big band days during and right after WW 2, but there is very little demand for it today.
Visually, the horn looks undamaged, so slide corrosion from long-term storage would be the major concern.
I would ask the seller to remove the outer slide and send a photo of the inner tubes.
Are these any good when they are fully restored? If this were fully restored would it be comparable to a 2B or just not as good in general as a 2B?
The Liberty series of trombones had both inner slide tubes of 0.481" diameter. It was replaced by the Liberty 2B, which had one tube of 0.481", and one tube of 0.491" diameter. The 2B is generally considered a more desirable horn. The 0.481" horn was popular in the big band days during and right after WW 2, but there is very little demand for it today.
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ryebrye
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Re: Old King Liberty - worth a 4 hour drive to get and restore?
Thanks for the info! Someone else bought it, so I can only assume it's going to a good home. (That is good because it saves me a trip, and having to explain to my wife why I would want to take said trip...)