MFfan

Olds Ambassadors, Barrington BRG101, King 600 series, Holton 600 series, Besson 609.

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Dave Rafferty
Lemar Trumpet (peashooter-Conn?)
Lyrical Trumpet (Tokan)

Besson 609 Trumpet
1955-60 Besson 8-10 Trumpet
1948 Besson cornet
1946 King Master Cornet
www.kalamazooconcertband.org

camelbrass

The English Besson trumpets (post war) like this one:

Besson Trumpet 2-20 - eBay (item 170303012709 end time Feb-25-09 08:07:01 PST)

Please note, not 'Bessons'. These are cheap Indian knock-offs.

There are various different models some with numbers some with English town names but all are well made and even if they've had a hard life don't take a whole lot to fix.

Regards,


Trevor

Dale Proctor

Conns from the 50's and 60's; Olds from the 50's through the 70's. Even the student models (Directors and Ambassadors) are pretty good horns, especially for the student or casual player.

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Olde Towne Brass
www.otbrass.com

Brass Band of Huntsville
www.brassbandofhuntsville.org

"Hit it hard and wish it well." - Claude Gordon

Liblip

My vote's for the Olds Ambassador, I still keep my 35-year-old around. Great, classic brass sound, remarkably good valves, and a general heft that withstand nearly any mistreatment. It remains my backup, and it would be the candidate to accompany me anywhere that I'd fear for my main axe. -Ed

bobd0

I picked up a 1952 Holton Model 29 Cornet, in remarkably good condition, for under $100 on eBay -- including shipping charges. It was considered a pro horn in its day. I'm very pleased with it.

daniel starz

What about "Getzen Trumpets" has anyone thought maybe a company that still makes
great horns in "America" for the last 50 plus years ???
is worth a mention !

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trumpets
getzen artist sterling silver
besson international 800 usa
benge 5x
cornets
getzen 80 power bore
getzen tone balance
getzen copra temp
getzen 580 s capri
53 olds super
54 olds recording

operagost

I only played it a few minutes, but I thought the Getzen 590 was a good student horn. It slotted like a trolley car, which would be annoying for a professional jazz player but great for a beginner. It had a nice, moderately dark sound that should blend pretty well.

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2006 Yamaha Xeno 8335RGS
1987 Conn 100B "Doc Severinsen"
1946 Conn 22B "New York Symphony"

ChopsGone

What about the Kanstul-made Besson BE-609, BE-709? True, they're not being made any more, but I've heard nothing but great things about the BE-709 and it's widely available new being closed out for $299. I'll know Thursday afternoon what I think of it.

Update: It arrived a day early, but it's going back tomorrow. Only for a replacement, same model. I insist on being the first to put dents in any new horn I receive, and someone in the warehouse beat me to it. Other than that, I'm impressed. It's still a little tight, but has a good tone, is open and easy to play, has good intonation, pretty responsive. Valves are quick and fairly light, considering that it needed oil badly when received. For about $300, I think it would be hard to beat this in a new or used instrument. It feels a lot closer to a pro horn than it should for that price. Apparently there are still quite a few in the warehouse, so don't blame me if you miss out. Look at it this way: for $300, it should be anywhere from 20% to 33% as good as a vintage Olds Recording. It comes a good bit closer than that.

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Vintage Olds and Reynolds, yes sir, yes sir, one gazoo full.

Calicchios, Besson, Kanstul Bessons, Selmers, etc.

F.E. forgive me, even a Bach Strad (but I like the others much better)

MFfan

I agree: My Getzen 80 cornet is a well built, good playing long cornet and the valves still work well after many years of use as a school instrument.

Must reiterate my Barrington trumpet as a decent, inexpensive instrument

Also, I have acquired a 48 or so Besson cornet that is a very good instrument. Also would recommend the 8-10 (used to have one) and 2-20 cornets along with the trumpets. Must be careful to verify the valves are good though. Hard to get replacement pistons.

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Dave Rafferty
Lemar Trumpet (peashooter-Conn?)
Lyrical Trumpet (Tokan)

Besson 609 Trumpet
1955-60 Besson 8-10 Trumpet
1948 Besson cornet
1946 King Master Cornet
www.kalamazooconcertband.org

gzent

Any horn made in the Kanstul shop will be high quality, whether a Kanstul, Besson, Zeus, etc. If someone can pick one up cheap then they can't really go wrong.

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www.bethanybrass.com - Helping fellow trumpet players achieve musical excellence