| My Constellation had quite a few dimples and small dents taken out and it sounds fine. I agree with Jim that the leadpipe and valves are what makes or breaks a horn.
For valves, I'd recommend the Brass Bow, which is owned by Wayne Tanabe. In fact, the 'overhauled' Constellation that I bought is just now being shipped back from the Brass Bow. The valves were replated, fitted and precision aligned. The work isn't cheap! It costs about $500 to get the valves replated and then hand fitted with another $135 for a precision valve alignement (aka PVA). The PVA consists of not just aligning the valves but replacing the parts of the valve that can break down with a substance called 'Delrin' (sp?). This is a space age material that is inert and won't break down with time like cork woud--as an example. The shop also keeps a record of the pieces so that if you lose one of them it can be replaced.
The Brass Bow can also do the metal work for around $300 to $400 or so, depending on how bad the metal is. Expect your horn to be gone for quite a while! My horn has been gone for almost three months because the valve replating has to be sent out. So be ready for a loooong wait!
So, to do things right is going to run you somewhere around $1,000 to $1,200 here in the USA. My recommendation is that you do this only on a vintage, professional level horn that you really want to play.
Bill |