claymor

My Brother plays a Paris made Leblanc Al Hirt model. I'm not sure it's age but I think it is mid to late 70's. The horn plays great. Lighting fast valves with a HUGE open tone. I think the bore is .468 and the horn is light as a feather. It doesn't have the engraving but rather a plain silk finish that just says "LaBlanc" in script on the bell.

I haven't seen any comments about this horn on this page. Does anyone play or have one? Do you like it or not? How would you rate it against a 50's Olds Recording?

billybix76

Its a good horn. I had a close one to that it was a late 60's Leblanc "Sonic" (pre-Gozzo) Played very well. was a heavy horn compared to todays silver plated stuff but had a brighter sound than a recording of the same era. I was very impressed with the intonation and slotting above high C. Made a great lead horn. Ive played a few other Leblanc's from the 70's and they did start to go down hill after Holton merger...Their resurrected horn for Arturo in the 90's was OK but not a big seller for Holton...Now UMI makes em (badly)

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1973 L.A. Benge 5x # 11909
Blessing Artist Flugel
Yamaha YSL354 Trombone
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Recent horns i've played and sold in the quest for the perfect horn...
1960 Conn 38B
Getzen Eterna 900 (70's model)
1967 Olds Mendez
Holton ST200
Leblanc Sonic

claymor

What or who does the Gozzo refer to?

ZeuSter

"Gozzo" refers to the Leblanc "Conrad Gozzo" model trumpet that was made in the late 50's and early 60s. Conrad Gozzo was a legendary lead trumpet player who passed away at an early age.

Solar Bell

I have a LeBlanc 770 Conrad Gozzo trumpet in mint condition.

I also played a Courtois 708 Sonic that I bought new in 1976, I played it 25 years, GREAT trumpet.

In the Sass & Brass video you can see Al Hirt playing the Courtois 708 Sonic in the session with Maynard, Mangione, Dizzy, and Cherry.

-cw-

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Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

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Ronald Reagan