musicalmason

man, I found a deal todayand I jumped on it. a chicago benge, basically perfect condition L bore it says custom made by e benge on the bell, resno-tempered bell. with Mt. Vernon 10 1/c and old blessing 9 mp and what I think to be the original case, for $395. sometimes people sell things, when they dont know what they have, those of us who reads these forums and learn the history of brands are more able to jump on what we know to be a good deal. thank you trumpet forums.

nowherenearadouble

Wow!
I love Benges! What a deal!
Alan

trptbenge

Being a Benge fanatic I am jealous but happy for you. It is amazing that you come across deals like that. Congratulations. Are the valves and leadpipe in good shape?

Mike

musicalmason

the alignment of the valves were a little off (I dont have the equiptment to do a pva, but I can shive light through the tubes with a mirror and look) so I replaced the felts and they seem perfect now, it plays like a large bore should so I cant image that they are too far off, Im still looking for some springs to replace the ones that are on it, I think theyve lost some compression in their old age. the leadpipe is fine though, no corrosion or red rot that I can see, a little laquer wear were the thumb touches but thats it, again I looked down the tube with a mirror. heres an interesting tid bit for you. I was fooling around with my horns just now, almost all the callet parts from my callet are interchangeble with the benge parts. the only difference is the "reversed" first valve slide on the callet, and the callet has a slightly tighter wrap on the valve slides, the tubes fit perfectly though. the tuning slide is an exact match. interesting isnt it.

Benge Loyalist

What is the serial number of your Chicago Benge? And how in the world did you stumble into such a deal?

musicalmason

1537 if my off hand memory serves me correctly. I have it registered with jim donaldsons benge loyalist, it is the 9th oldest benge on the list and the oldest large bore. it was quite an easy deal to make, a simple situation of the seller not knowing what they had. they were very happy to get $395 for the horn and I was happy to give it to them.

Benge Loyalist

Oh, my! They had the 37th LB Chicago, didn't know what they had, yet knew enough about the original purchase to get listed in the Benge data base? Geez - you're one lucky fella.

Well, let's hear the history of this trumpet. It's gotta be good!

I've been in touch with the owner of a Chicago Benge #31xx. It is a one-owner horn. But he wants over $3500, putting it way over the market. Given there is nothing special about that particular horn or when it was made, the owner simply doesn't want to sell it, has no idea of the market value, or both.

Why is it I fine all of those sellers, yet others are able to find prizes from owners who don't have a clue and sell for a song?

Life ain't fair!

musicalmason

no, actually they didnt know enough to get it listed in the benge data base, I did once I bought it. and yeah $3500 is to much for a horn in 30's serial #

FlugelFlyer

Congradulations! Have lots of fun playing it as you think I would.

rhdroc

Knowing that you took advantage of some poor, unknowing individual(s) must really do your conscience wonders -- no matter how you justify it

I realize that "business is business" and the "buyer/seller must always beware" but to openly gloat about deceiving another person, in the name of "the deal" or because you're "so well read in Benge values" is in poor taste. I wonder, if they had the option of reading your posts now, would they still be "happy" with the deal??

Maybe you should change you name to "slipperymason??"

Congratulations --<Rick