screamingmorris

Super Collegiate Cornet by Holton - eBay (item 150209927361 end time Jan-31-08 20:02:44 PST)

God blessed somebody with that 1960 Holton Super Collegiate cornet for only $51 plus shipping.

It is the tri-color version which has the copper bell with a nickel section at the very end.
But a previous owner thought that wasn't gaudy enough, so he installed Amado spit valves on it.
I don't usually like Amado spit valves, but in this case they are fun to have on the cornet because it takes a cornet which already is "over-the-top" in looks (color) and then the Amado spit valves make it even *more* over-the-top, essentially "pimping it out".
The new owner will probably pay a local guy to clear-coat it to keep the colors bright without much future elbow grease maintenance polishing.

The guy that got that for only $51 was really blessed by God.

Oh, wait a minute, that guy is *me*

Thank you, God.

- Morris

JustinSmith

Cool Rainbow cornet. Enjoy.

__________________
Justin J. Smith

When people believe in boundaries, they become part of them.......Don Cherry

screamingmorris

Photos of a 1957 tri-color Holton Super Collegiate trumpet can be seen at near the middle of the page at
Holton Loyalist.com - Trumpets / Cornets

I hope my 1960 cornet looks that nice after it is polished and clear-coated.

Any suggestions on how I can further pimp it out with minimum expense?
Such as the gold fingerbuttons that some people put on their Bach Strads?

MFfan

Good buy Morris! Very pretty horn! I wonder what makes it a Super Collegiate? I didn't see that one, but don't look for cornets anymore. My $50 53 Holton Collegiate and 61 Roth cornets are enough for me and I don't want to stretch my "bargain luck" much further, having been burned a couple of times.

screamingmorris

From the late 50's through some time in the 60's the Super Collegiate had the copper bell making it look somewhat like a Conn Coprion bell. Earlier Super Collegiates apparently didn't have the copper bell, making them bi-color with the nickel at the end of the bell.
I've never had a copper bell before, so I am *really* anxious to try it out.
The cost of trumpets has doubled in the past 12 months so that I really can't afford to buy what I want, such as a 1946-1952 Conn 22B, but the price of many cornets is still low enough to fit my tight budget.

I hope to end up with just 3 modest instruments for playing around the house:

#1 - The tighter bore tri-color Super Collegiate for fun in playing and looking at, maybe I'll learn to play some Dixieland?

#2 - A larger .465 cornet for playing ballads, several inexpensive ones I have my eye on right now

#3 - A tight bore trumpet for screaming

Because of my tight budget on a disability income, I will be getting all 3 instruments for a maximum total of $500, which will involve getting rid of my beat-up 1970 Conn 22B that I am not quite satisfied with.
I will feel somewhat guilty spending that much, since I am just an amateur who plays in the kitchen, although I see many posters whose instrument collections total in the 10's of 1,000's of dollars.

By the end of this month both my instrument safari and my mouthpiece safari will be over, then I will have to find a way to break my addiction to such safari hunting:
"I will not look at Craigslist and eBay... I will not look at Craigslist and eBay... I will not look at Craigslist and eBay..."

MFfan

Very commendable Morris! Addiction is hard to break, it certainly is in my case, like yours. Also have a tight budget. I am just looking for one more good back up horn that doesn't need repairs and is pretty cheap. Thanks for the explanation of the Super Deluxe model.

screamingmorris

The 1960 Holton Super Collegiate cornet arrived this morning.
Within 36 hours of my winning the auction, which is really great service from that eBay seller without my even having to ask for it.

Just as I suspected they would from previous experience, FedEx left the package on the front porch and then ran away without even ringing the doorbell.
*Every* delivery service has a tendency to do that, leaving the package vulnerable to being stolen by anybody walking or driving past my house, so I always asking for tracking numbers that will enable me to determine when to look for the package and bring it inside ASAP.

When I opened the cardboard box I discovered another cardboard box inside.
Because the cornet did not come with a case, the seller had double-boxed the cornet to protect it, which really impressed me.
(It is fun to look at the newspapers and other material that sellers use as packing material)

When I opened the inner box I just about wet my pants with excitement.
The 1960 Holton Super Collegiate tri-color cornet stripped to raw metal looked *gorgeous*.
The "pitting" that the Ebay ad mentioned being on the bell bow turned out to be so *minor*, so small and superficial, that I was surprised she had mentioned it; most eBay sellers wouldn't have mentioned it.

And when I tried playing the Super Collegiate the first time with the Holton 77 mouthpiece that came with it I was *thrilled* with the beautiful rich tone in the lower register.
Then when I climbed the scales to play a loud F above high C, and then I even squealed a G above that, I was so happy that I started dancing in my kitchen.
(Steve Martin's "happy feet" from around 1980)
I can hardly wait to get cornet versions of the deep and the shallow mouthpieces I am used to so that I can have even richer lower register and even better upper register.
Down low it sounds like a beautiful cornet, but up high it sounds like an extra-large-bore trumpet.

The valves and slides all work perfectly.
Some previous owner pimped it out by putting Amado spit valves on it that are working like new.
Ordinarily I don't like Amado spit valves, but in this case I love the way they give the cornet that pimped-up look.
The tri-color brass and nickel and copper looked over-the-top already, then the Amado spit valves made it even more over-the-top.

To protect the tri-color finish I am going to have a local guy, Mike, give it a coat of clear lacquer.
That will also mellow the tone somewhat, but I don't mind.

My wife, who hates my squealing high notes all the time, actually *complimented* my rich tone when I demonstrated a low-register "I Can't Get Started" on the Super Collegiate for her.
(at least until I couldn't resist squeaking a High G again which made her grimace; the High G is actually slightly easier on the cornet than on my trumpet; the cornet mouthpiece gives slightly more resistance)

Since I don't have a case yet, I put the cardbox it came in on top of the dining table, then I put a worn-out big pillow inside the box as a mattress, then I placed the Super Collegiate on top of the pillow, then I told my wife that we have a new "baby" in the house.
This time *I* will do the 3 a.m. feedings.
I'm a proud Papa

Does anybody know the bore size of my 1960 Super Collegiate cornet?
I thought it would probably be a .459, but the blow and tone feel *almost* like the .465 Holton cornets I have admired in the past, certainly better than the .459 Bach and Yamaha silver-plated student cornets I tried last year.
I wonder if the copper part of the bell is contributing to some of that rich tone, although the very end of the bell is nickel.

I think I hear the "baby" crying for attention, so I gotta go...

misty.sj

Sounds beautiful, lets have a picture! With you playing it, I mean. And $51??!?! What a steal!

__________________
--Misty
Hit it hard, and wish it well. -- Claude Gordon

1925(?) Conn Cavalier Bb (s/n 14142)
2007 Barrington Bb student trumpet

screamingmorris

Yes, I *am* beautiful.

Apparently, my reputation preceeds me.

Chicks really dig us 51-year-old over-weight men with receding hairlines and plastic-framed eyeglasses.

Still, it *is* embarrassing when chicks drool over me here

I will not post my photo because the resulting flood of Internet traffic involving chicks trying to access my photo here would overwhelm the Trumpet Master server and shut everything down...

- Morris, chick magnet

MFfan

My two nice cornets cost about that price, each. They are out there if you keep looking and are lucky! Misty, enjoyed your posts on the guy with starting web hosting, etc. How do I hear what your barn sounds like? I don't have an ipod. Dave