Matt Funamura

To defend myself, I was 16 and stupid. I had a beautiful (but in need of restoration) 1929 Conn 2b. I bought it at a local thrift store for $50 in the original case when I was 14. I had issues with the horn too. It was old, had minor air leakage, the valves and slides were well worn, the bell and leadpipe were drooping, and there was a wear spot on the bell that i was worried about forming into a hole. The silver plating was about 75% still there after 2 years of playing it in my high school jazz band and marching band. After I got my Yamaha Heavywall at age 16, I sold it because I thought, out of my own naivety, that the horn was beyond repair. I later realized, at around age 18 after making friends with a great repair specialist, that it wasn't that costly to restore the damn thing. 6 years later, I'm still kicking myself. I don't know if I'll truly ever get over it!

Anyone want to share some of their stories?

Matt

tedh1951

Matt, I understand exactly - although I have never been able to bring myself to sell any of my trumpets. I even fret when I lend one to my neice - it means I can't get it out of the case, give it a wash, a gently buff, a little bit of lanolin on the slides, gently squeeze out a few "toons" and then back into the case. Remember though that you will always now be super sensitive to similar horns - and you will probably find some old stager that will overcome your grief for you. Best of luck.

Matt Funamura

Yeah I've gone through a few more horns since then, I just bought a Calicchio 1s3ML a couple weeks back and I can't seem to put it down. I mean, it's been a few years and I haven't sold any other horns so I'm not losing sleep over it...Thanks!

Dave Mickley

Yes , Dave

Toobz

Although I have bought and sold a number of instruments over the decades, this one haunts me still. My story is about a sax. A Conn DJH 108m. (Keilwerth stencil). This horn was purchased off Ebay. It was listed as just a Conn alto. The lone fuzzy pic showed a 70's era case and some student instructional books. At a quick glance, it appeared to be one of the cheap low grade student horns that Conn sold during the 70's. But for some reason, the sax caught my eye. I looked the picture over and realized that this was no crappy modern Conn. So I emailed the seller and asked what numbers were on the back. 108m was the response. Jackpot !

I ended up being the high bidder at $270.00 + $35.00 for shipping.
So for just over $300.00 I had bought a damn good Pro sax. All that remained was what kind of shape, and what kind of a player was this sax going to be. Upon arrival, it looked decent, but nothing close to mint. However, it played wonderfully. I still have not played another alto as good as this one. It was one of those horns where everything fell into place. A real player.

I ended up selling this horn when I was a little short on cash for $1000.00 bucks on Ebay. After all . I consider myself mainly a Tenor player, and I didn't think I needed the Alto.The buyer emailed me when it arrived and was trying to squeeze some cash back out of me, because he thought it would be a little better looking. I asked, "Did you play it yet? " He said he'd give it a try and would get back to me. He did ! He said that this sax plays better than anyting he had ever played and was thrilled with his purchase. I knew right then, at that moment, what a bonehead I was for letting that sax get away.

gglassmeyer

My trumpet teacher had just sold me his old Yamaha, and had to ask to borrow it the next weekend for a gig. His new horn had a valve that kept sticking. He got his horn back pretty quick so I wasn't without mine for long.
Other than my first student model Conn 16B i've never sold one. Didn't really mind selling in favor of the pro Yamaha.

Dale Proctor

I played an early 1960's Conn 6B Victor trumpet in high school. I bought a Bach Strad in the early 1980's and sold the Conn shortly after. A couple of years later, I began to regret it. With the advent of eBay, I started looking for another one. I found a very nice 1960 model, exactly like my old one, except in better (like new) shape with a BIN of $300. One click and I had a 6B again.

IAmBrassman

Good to see you on this forum, Dale.

I traded a Callet Jazz #66XX in 1995 for a Callet Superchops #70XX. I am now on the hunt for another Callet Jazz or Symphonique -- -- and will likely pay double what I traded the old one for. Ugh.