william bua

Hello All,
I am a brand new member. I am a saxophone player, but in my travels looking for nice saxophones, I come accross some nice stuff. Yesterday, I found a Martin Committee coronet. I know the committee trumpets are much sought after. Are the coronets decent, good, or great? Can anyone give me some help? The serial number indicates it was made in 1950-1951. Very nice condition with about 85-90 percent range on its original lacquer and the valves show almost 0 wear. All slides work great too. Any info would help a lot, Thanks. William Bua

P.S. If you want to see if I am legit, check out the saxontheweb.com. I use my own name there as well. Cheers,

MFfan

I would buy it if you can. Committee cornets are well thought of by many, including me. My dad bought me a new to start out on in 8th grade in 1955 and I played until I got a K-mod trumpet for college in 60.

Not sure how much they are worth in comparison to trumpets, but probably a bit less. You might do an advanced search on ebay for completed auctions to see what turns up.

I wish I had the chance to get one again, for nostalgia purposes if nothing else. Apparently it worked ok for me, but I can't recall the actual sound, of course.

Maybe someone who has one or played one recently will chime in.
Welcome to the forum.

oldlou

My dad also bought a Committee cornet for me in my youth and I VERY FOOLISHLY traded it off to Robt. Rowe of this forume who also loves it. They are notorious for poor retention of their original lacquer, but, noted for their superlative valves and nearly perfect intonation and usability for many different musical forms. I have a rather extensive 'accumilation' of fine vintage cornets and to have my old Committee back would put it well up in the heirarchy of my horns.


OPLDLOU>>

A.N.A. Mendez

I've had a couple over the past few years, they are huge players, great style, big.

Toobz

Welcome aboard W B !

I too post occasionally on SOTW. And like you, I am mainly a sax player. I also own a Martin Committee cornet, and it's my main cornet . Yes they are very good cornets, and have decent resale value. But as you know, the trumpets are the really sought after horns. A decent cornet will fetch between $400 and $600 on Ebay, and as always, condition drives the value. As with all typical Martin's, the laquer is usually in poor condition, and the prices I stated are keeping that in mind. If your committee is in better than average shape, it could bring more.

Do you play any brass yourself ? If not, are you going to sell the
Committee ? If so, maybe we can work out a trade. I have several
vintage saxes I could tempt you with !!!

william bua

Wow!!, such quick replies,
It looks like I found the right place. I don't know what the protocol is on this forum on these things. Since I am a saxophone player and don't play coronet, I will be selling the horn, but first I will take the horn to the tech when he opens on Tuesday to make sure the horn is sound. I know it is, because I know saxophones. The Martin committee saxophones are really great horns. Judging by the lacquer condition of the horn and the lack of re-solders and the very modest dent repairs present, I would say the horn is in really nice shape. The valves show no scoring either. Once the tech looks it over, I will weigh my options. I would much rather sell or trade to a musician and not sell on fleabay. I don't see a marketplace on this forum like we have on the sax on the web forum. Am I missing it? What is proper procedures on this forum? Since I am a newbie, bear with me. Thanks again all, Bill

MFfan

Glad you got some other informed responses. There is a Classified section on this forum (see upper bar). Also, if you go to Trumpetherald site and join there, they have an active marketplace. Of course there are good and bad things about selling horns on the net, whether on the forums or Evilbay.

screamingmorris

I have never heard nor played an old Committee cornet.
Please give me an idea what they sound like and what they would be best used for?
Do they come in just one bore size or 3 bore sizes like the trumpets did?
I am searching for a cornet that has a big beautiful rich tone for playing lush ballads and I was wondering if a Committe cornet would work well.

- Morris

Toobz

To me, the Committee is not the lushest of cornets. It does have a nicer soft sound when you want it, but it tends to be more trumpet like when pushed. At least that's my impression. That's one of the main reasons I like the Committee, it's versatility.

I've measured mine as a .453 bore, which I believe is the medium bore. I'm not sure of different bore sizes were available like they were for the trumpet.

screamingmorris

I found a photo of a Committee cornet and they do look more trumpet-like:
Martin Committee Cornet

I own 2 cornets, one with a .460 and another with a .485.
Although the .460 has a very mellow sound, it lacks the richness of the .485; I guess the .485 is providing greater overtones.
But the .485 sounds just a tiny bit too Teutonic / heavy.
I have liked the tone I get from cornets with a .465-.470.
So it sounds like the Committee cornet is great but not for the application I am looking for.
Thanks for the info.

- Morris