Newman

Thanks for everyone's help.

hazmat

Why are you so reluctant to post what horn you bought?

Anyway, from what I've been told, some people just don't work well with scratched lacquer. I guess the lacquer does not fill in the actual scratches all the way (if it did it wouldn't look as good) so sweat can get under it easily and distort it.

But that's only what I've been told, no guarantees.

Matt

MUSICandCHARACTER

Matt,

That is not true. The lacquer can be applied thicker and will hold better to the scratched surface. A polished surface is much harder to lacquer. I think he got a bad lacquer job. He posted this on the TH too. I'll say what I said before, exchange the horn. Every manufacturer has a horn come out once-in-a-while that is bad. It won't cost Music 123 anything, it is under warranty. They should exchange it without hesitation. That is what I would do.

Jim

Newman

Thanks. I made a decision.

MUSICandCHARACTER

And?

Inquiring minds would love to know. Not that you have to tell us -- but it might be helpful for others who may run into a similar situation.

Jim

Newman

Many people here and at TH wrote with something to the effect of this: There is no perfect horn for one person; find a horn that "feels" right to you, be it the sound, the feel, the life it exhudes, and stick with it. The horn I picked has a lot of that "stuff", but the Vintage One does too, which I realized after I already ordered my current horn. They're both great horns, and both fit me in many ways.

That's one thing.

Second, I am very disappointed with the fact that the lacquer started to wear within less than three weeks; I find this unacceptable.

If I didn't have the option of returning and exchanging it, I'd suck it up and replate it in gold down the road. If I could afford it now, by still using the Music123 card, I'm not sure if I would. I might still go for the Vintage One.

I wrote Pros and Cons, I weighed my likes and dislikes of both horns and the current situation, and I played both horns side by side. Both fantastic horns. Both different. Both suited to me, but in slightly different ways.

I chose to send it back and will order the Vintage One w/ Rose Bell in Gold.

Moral of the story: Really weigh your options, go with your gut, take your time, and make a solid decision and stick with it. There is no "right" decision, just the one you choose.

MUSICandCHARACTER

Very true. The Vintage One is a nice horn. But once you have a nice horn that your "gut" tells you is right, then it is time to practice. :)

Thanks for sharing your process!

Jim

Newman

music matters

I must say I have read these threads on TH, and here, and I find them a little strange. I agree with M and C that if your original horn was from a reputable manufacturer, as you said it was, and the lacquer was wearing after only a few weeks, and this is not normal, then that particular horn was probably faulty and the shop would exchange it. I find it interesting you never disclose the manufacturer of the faulty horn, and do not apper to have contacted the music shop and asked their advice about the lacquer problem, which I thought would have been the first course of action.

If it was a faulty horn, which is most likely, why not exchange it as you obviously liked the horn to play? However, if you prefer the Conn over this mystery horn regardless of its lacquer problem ( as I am sure that that could have been rectified) then it sounds like you have made a sound decision. From what I have heard the Conn Vintage 1 is a very good trumpet and I hope you are very happy with it.

Best regards
MM

Newman

There was a whole other ordeal with the horn which makes it more difficult to swallow this lacquer issue, and I have contacted the manufacture itself. If I have them deal with it, it takes away my warranty and trial period through Music123, so I'd rather not do that (plus, their advice, which I did find out right away, was to return the horn: either they would repair it, send it back to the manufacture, or order me another). Also, I didn't disclose the manufacture because I wanted an unbiased opinion.

All and all, I think it's all happening for a reason, and I believe I've made a good choice. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. :)

To be honest, I didn't want to send back and get the lacquer redone after getting my ordeal, which was: I got the wrong horn the first time (wrong finish, actually and iroically), a damaged horn the second time, and then this lacquer-wear this last time. I didn't add this info because it didn't really deal with this particular issue. But I do believe that the rest of this stuff has made me change my mind. Also, playing the horns side by side did so too.

Thanks.