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Old 07-18-2006, 05:53 PM   #37 (permalink)
Richard Oliver
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Location: Casper, WY
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Re: Is it really worth buying an old horn?

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheCanadianScreamer
I always wondered what the attraction of buying an old horn is. They're cool and all, but what makes you spend money on it.
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"If you want to impress your friends, slip 'dideoxyribonucleotide' into any conversation." - Da Tasteebros
Canadian, here's the reasons I bought an old horn in no particular order: 1) I'm a comeback player, & ALL horns can be played better than I can play them. 2) The gentleman who runs the "gearhead" site, the Schilkie Loyalist, wrote that we sound pretty much like ourselves no matter what we play. He mentioned a K-Modified as a possible used horn to keep an eye out for. 3) I don't like sliver plate finish. 4) I was happy to own something "unusual" that won't be the run of the mill horn as long as it plays good. 5) Price. I paid $670 for my Selmer, and it's a gorgeous beast plays like a dream. Super projection. Great sound. There's a gentleman in Tennessee I believe, horn restoration man, I'm in line to have her overhauled in the fall.

I agree with the players who posted before me that there's a thrill and a fact in owning a great older horn. You've got something that at one time was the best there was. For a couple years, I worked in a So. Calif. high-volume music store 25 years ago. We sold lots of brass and woodwinds. I got a chance to play all of them. We sold mostly Bachs, but had Benges and Olds, 1 Selmer Radial, but Bachs were the king then. I guess what I'm trying to say is that what's hot now and WAY cool might be preciesly that. But given time . . . oh heck I don't know how to express what I'm trying to say other than over time, my tastes have changed.

I like the old horns.

Happy Practicing

Richard Oliver
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