Brass Medic 88h

[ryant]

Hey folks,

I wanted to take a minute and give a huge shout out to Brad Close for some amazing work he did on an old Conn 88H of mine. I bought this horn about 10 years ago for very cheap. It was pretty beat up, but even then I could tell it was special. It resonated beautifully, and I figured that if it sounded and felt that good in that state, then with some TLC it could be a truly great player. The serial number is in the E70XXX range.

I talked to Brad about it earlier this year, and he recently finished the work. The horn was missing most of its lacquer, and I had no interest in re-lacquering it since I felt that was part of what gave it the sound and resonance I liked.

Brad was fantastic about communicating throughout the process, explaining what work he thought was necessary and how each option would affect the overall cost. He was flexible and accommodating. He did everything I asked for and helped me save some money by skipping work that wasn’t essential.

Now that I have it back, it is my new favorite 88H out of my collection of five, including my Minick. My favorite part of his work is the custom yellow brass end crook he made and installed on the hand slide. And since he pulled the leadpipe, I can now use one of his 1919 8H seamed copper leadpipes, which pairs perfectly with this horn.

I will try to share some photos soon, though they will not do the work justice.

I could not be happier that I sent this horn to him. If you have ever thought about having Brad do some work for you, you will not be disappointed.

Ryan

[tbonesullivan]

Posts like this make me want to get an actual 88H, and not A kanstul 1588, which is kind of an 88H tribute. But, since I'm playing mostly bass these days, and am a dyed in the wool Bach 42 Fan, it'll have to wait for now.

[brassmedic]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you like it!