World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

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atopper333
Posts: 334
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:40 am

World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by atopper333 »

Hello All,

Over a year ago, I purchased the world’s ugliest Elkhart 88H from one of our awesome forum members under the premise that if it got that ugly, it had to be played, thus it had to be a great horn. I’ve now gotten it back and as always, I’d love to give a shout out to the great work done by our awesome techs who used their considerable skill and experience to bring this horn back.

The horn was originally sent to Mr. Brad Close’s Instrument Repair and he pulled the original leadpipe and made it press fit and supplied his awesome 8H pipe in Morse taper. He also reworked the slide and brought it back to life with new inner tubes and he provided a few more tweaks to bring this instrument back. This work was downright excellently done, many thanks again for all the work.

After getting the horn back I proceeded to sent it to Mr. Huwe at Wardbrodt Music where it received dent work, a scratch brush finish with bright inner bell, and lacquer. His work was excellently done, many thanks again to him for all the work put in.

This horn has come back and plays and looks wonderful with many years of life ahead of it!
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muschem
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by muschem »

:amazed:
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harrisonreed
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by harrisonreed »

'Before' pics or it never happened!! 😂
- Harrison Reed

Harry's Custom Mouthpieces
AtomicClock
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Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:01 pm

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by AtomicClock »

harrisonreed wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 9:56 pm 'Before' pics or it never happened!! 😂
Probably this:
https://www.trombonechat.com/viewtopic. ... 58#p236758
Posaunus
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Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 9:54 pm

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by Posaunus »

harrisonreed wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 9:56 pm 'Before' pics or it never happened!! 😂
viewtopic.php?p=252000&hilit=Ugliest#p252000
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Finetales
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by Finetales »

Wow! Nice to see that horn given a second lease on life. I'm glad it's in your hands. World's ugliest no more!
atopper333
Posts: 334
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:40 am

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by atopper333 »

AtomicClock wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 10:17 pm
harrisonreed wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 9:56 pm 'Before' pics or it never happened!! 😂
Probably this:
https://www.trombonechat.com/viewtopic. ... 58#p236758
That’d be the one!
atopper333
Posts: 334
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:40 am

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by atopper333 »

Finetales wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 11:27 pm Wow! Nice to see that horn given a second lease on life. I'm glad it's in your hands. World's ugliest no more!
Thanks much, and thanks again for the awesome deal on the horn! I played on it a bit prior to getting the work done just to be sure…there just seemed to be something special about it, and I’ve always been a fan of the 88H sound.
Soulbrass
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Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2023 1:35 pm

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by Soulbrass »

Wow! What an amazing transformation…made me smile : )) Congrats to you for the project stewardship and to the craftsmen for their expertise. Well done!

Somewhere on this blog should be a repository of before/after stories and pics.
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harrisonreed
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by harrisonreed »

Yeah it's awesome!
- Harrison Reed

Harry's Custom Mouthpieces
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EriKon
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by EriKon »

Looks like a custom horn now! Great job and even better if it plays well!
chromebone
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by chromebone »

Jim is the best! I have a Benge 190 that I managed to drop on the floor of the Pittsburgh airport after forgetting to zip up the case after going through TSA. :weep: The bell was pretty badly smashed. He did an amazing job of straightening it out and relacquering it.
atopper333
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Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:40 am

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by atopper333 »

EriKon wrote: Fri Dec 19, 2025 5:58 am Looks like a custom horn now! Great job and even better if it plays well!
It plays like a dream. The slide and rotor are amazing, and the sound is awesome. Feedback to the player is really good too. It’s every bit as good as good as my HN White era King 4BF, it just hits that different sound concept which is exactly what I looking for!
atopper333
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Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:40 am

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by atopper333 »

chromebone wrote: Fri Dec 19, 2025 6:06 am Jim is the best! I have a Benge 190 that I managed to drop on the floor of the Pittsburgh airport after forgetting to zip up the case after going through TSA. :weep: The bell was pretty badly smashed. He did an amazing job of straightening it out and relacquering it.
Ouch! That had to hurt! Definitely agree on Jim, he is downright awesome and talented, not to mention he is such a great guy to work with.
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hyperbolica
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by hyperbolica »

Wow, great look on that old horn. It's amazing that old horns still have that in them, and play great to boot. Thanks for the pix.
atopper333
Posts: 334
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:40 am

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by atopper333 »

hyperbolica wrote: Fri Dec 19, 2025 1:29 pm Wow, great look on that old horn. It's amazing that old horns still have that in them, and play great to boot. Thanks for the pix.
Not a problem at all…got some plans for that 6H I bought from you awhile back…just gotta recoup some funds before the next project!
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hyperbolica
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by hyperbolica »

atopper333 wrote: Fri Dec 19, 2025 2:22 pm
Not a problem at all…got some plans for that 6H I bought from you awhile back…just gotta recoup some funds before the next project!
Oh, yes, another great player that didn't look so good. I'm glad it wound up in the hands of someone with some vision.
WGWTR180
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Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by WGWTR180 »

I like!
slidesix
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Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2025 12:06 pm

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by slidesix »

I love it. She looks great! I like seeing a trombone being loved.
Aaron, a hobby player looking to restore and to keep up his chops!
Cleveland, OH area
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Cotboneman
Posts: 210
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:16 pm

Re: World’s Ugliest Elkhart 88H transformed!

Post by Cotboneman »

atopper333 wrote: Thu Dec 18, 2025 8:01 pm Hello All,

Over a year ago, I purchased the world’s ugliest Elkhart 88H from one of our awesome forum members under the premise that if it got that ugly, it had to be played, thus it had to be a great horn. I’ve now gotten it back and as always, I’d love to give a shout out to the great work done by our awesome techs who used their considerable skill and experience to bring this horn back.

The horn was originally sent to Mr. Brad Close’s Instrument Repair and he pulled the original leadpipe and made it press fit and supplied his awesome 8H pipe in Morse taper. He also reworked the slide and brought it back to life with new inner tubes and he provided a few more tweaks to bring this instrument back. This work was downright excellently done, many thanks again for all the work.

After getting the horn back I proceeded to sent it to Mr. Huwe at Wardbrodt Music where it received dent work, a scratch brush finish with bright inner bell, and lacquer. His work was excellently done, many thanks again to him for all the work put in.

This horn has come back and plays and looks wonderful with many years of life ahead of it!
Jim Huwe does fine work. I've had him scratch brush a Getzen bass trombone for me. Congratulations!
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