Movelle

I recently bought a 1956 Olds Ambassador cornet for about $100. I didn't start out to buy a cornet, I was looking for a decent pocket trumpet to throw in my suitcase when I'm away on business. The suggestion was made that instead of spending $300-$600 on a PT I should find an old student cornet on ebay for short money.

Sounded good, so that's what I did.

The cornet I got has seen some miles but is in pretty good condition for a 52 year old horn. The only thing is it must have taken a bad hit once which bent the bell. The repair job was done badly, the bell itself is mostly straight but the front bracing that joins the bell, 3rd valve casing and lead pipe is VERY badly soldered in place.

I worked in a repair shop to put money in my pocket during college, I'm not an artist but I'm proficient enough to clean this up. I'd also like to take the finish down to raw brass and let it gradually go to that deep mellow brown patina.

So, here's my question: Should I leave it alone out of respect for it's age, or should I play with it?

veery715

It's an Ambassador! Do what you want to it - they are decent horns, but by no stretch of the imagination are they rare. If it plays reasonably well the project may be worth it, but if it doesn't then don't bother, because your effort won't improve its playability and why spend time on a horn you won't play?
I just stripped a Conn 18A and the bell, supposedly cuprion, is just brass colored like the rest of the horn. It does sound good, though, and looks prettier w/o the flakes of lacquer it came with.

TrentAustin

go nuts... the cornet isn't going to probably have much more resale than what you bought it for, even fixed up. One of my students cleaned up his Getzen C recently and it looks tremendous!

hope to see you soon,
T

rowuk

Play with it! Take it apart and put it back together cleanly with no tension. Raw brass looks cool!

uapiper

Raw brass rules, raw brass rules. I have an Ambassador that I stripped and had to repair one of the valve to bell braces. It's cool. Delaquering is a mess and a bit of a pain. It's worth it but takes about three hours from start to play. Whatever you strip with, please make sure you have adequate ventilation.

Indian

Be careful not to use an acid based stripper as it can pit and damage the brass and plating. Use a solvent and surfactant stripper. I have had good success with TuffStrip from Lowes. Spray it on and wash it off with water an hour later. Then just polish it up to a bright shine. You can use a silicone impregnated cloth to wipe the horn down after polishing and after use. This keeps finger prints away and reduces the amount of polishing. You can find these cloths in the gun supply section at Walmart, etc for about $3.00.

BrassOnLine

PLAY IT !!!
It is why it was made, and it overpassed best expectations.
Enjoy !!!

flugelgirl

The only downside to raw brass horns is green hands, or in my case, allergies! I love the look and sound of a raw horn but can't touch them without getting an itchy rash. If you don't have that problem, go for it! You can always re-laquer if you dont like it, and it will look better than before either way.

uapiper

I have never had an experience with green hands from brass, but with copper yes. It takes months maybe years for a horn to develop a patina and I stripped my old King cornet in my avatar pic about a year ago and that's how it looks now. It gets played about two hours a week. So I don't know about tarnish and the green hand thing.

Could that be one of the reasons the hulk was green...maybe in his spare time...

I have noticed that when I brushed the bell of my TR-300 the bell quickly tarnished. I don't know, I mean I just don't know what to think. Too many possibilities, too little time. The babies are crying...gottago.

flugelgirl

I mention the green hands because of my husband's french horn, which is raw brass, and about 20 yrs old. Not only does his right hand get a little green, but so do the sleeves of his tux shirt whenever he has an orchestra gig! I think it probably depends on body chemistry, too - how acidic you are, and how much you sweat. I just get the itchy green scaly rash - kind of like you get if you're allergic to some jewelry. Nasty, so I don't touch raw brass if I can help it!