Adam Smith

Recently, the idea of a cornet instead of pocket trumpet was brought up so I started looking around on ebay. There are a number of relatively cheap older cornets. I know nothing about cornets and was wondering what types of older cornets are usually good. I have been looking at an olds ambassador, a few kings, and a Roth Reynolds. If I am going to buy a cornet, I would probably like to go ahead and get one good enough to use in a band if I needed to, but still not spend much.

screamingmorris

I think the general consensus is an Olds Ambassador from the 1950's or 1960's.
Lots of them dirt cheap on ebay, they were very good instruments although made for students.
I tried an Ambassador from the first year they were made, 1948, and it had quite a bit of resistance.
I was told that Olds redesigned the Ambassador so that after 1948 they played better than the 1948 ones.

A serial number list for knowing when an Olds was made:

F. E. Olds and Son Serial Numbers

Lars Kirmser's Music Trader - Olds Serial Number List

A.N.A. Mendez

Roth Reynolds WAY under rated, undiscovered good horns.

MFfan

I would agree with A.N.A on the Reynolds. I have a 61 Roth cornet in excellent condition and love the way it plays. Also my 53 Holton Collegiate is a good horn, and there are many out there. I didn't pay more than $50 for each of them. I used to have a Reynolds Emporer cornet that was a good player, also, now being used in one of our elementary schools.

djazz

All the horns mentioned above are good enough to play professionally in casual settings. A good vintage horn, even if it was marketed as a student horn may serve you well.

I have found that later Olds Ambassadors play well. I actually like them better than the older ones. A bit brassier and tighter slots. It is all a matter of personal taste and every vintage horn is a bit different.

The Holton Collegiate is good and really cheap. I also have found the King Cleveland and the later 602 to just as good and may be a bit better than the Holton Collegiate.

I think the most underrated horn is the Reynolds. I have two of the later Medalist cornets that are large bore and play really well. Currently they are my favorites but they may be too dark for some players.

A 1960s or 1970s cornet will be cheaper as it lacks collector's value but can be a better bet as it will likely have better valves and less rot. A safe buy is a clean Olds Ambassador.

This is a good time to shop for horns on eBay. Prices are high in the fall but lately I've seen several decent horns go for under $50. At that price it would hard to make a mistake.

Hope this rambling post offers some help. Have fun!

MFfan

As an attendum to my last post, I just picked up , from Craigslist locally, a really nice 73 Olds Ambassador cornet, deluxe case and Bach 5C and Olds 7C (soon to OLDLOU) for $50. Better than average lacquer, valves and slides. Used minimally as a school horn. Plays very nice. Interesting to compare with my others. I played it for several numbers at concert band practice last nite and was happy with the results with the 5C.