Phil Kersh

I have recently joined a British Brass Band and have been searching for a good cornet for the gig. Currently I am playing a L bore Yamaha 233S that doesn't seem to blend well with the rest of the section. The other musicians are playing on Besson Sovereign 928, a few Lawler cornets, a ZeuS Copper Bell cornet, and a Bach Strad 184 ML. Since my experience is mainly with orchestral playing with a Bach L 229H Malone conversion + Monette C 1/2, I could really use some educated feedback from those that have an opinion about shepherd's crook cornets and what they consider good vs. bad.

Any and all comments are welcome as I am looking into all options at this time.

forrest

There are lots of good, high end cornets out there. I have a large bore Lawler that has the best sound of any I know. also have a Selmer Paris K-Mod (non-shepherd's crook) cornet that, while it sounds good, isn't in the same ballpark.

I'm tracking down a recent manufacture Selmer Paris Concept Cornet that I hope fits the bill for me. They're not sold in the US, but they're supposed to be killer horns. I love the short throw Selmer valves and would love to have one to go with my vintage Radial.

In addition to Lawler, Smith-Watkins and Flip Oakes both have great Cornets. In regular production horns, you can't go wrong with a Getzen 3850 (and it's less than 1/2 the price of the other horns listed.).

Good luck - play them all and find one you like.

Phil Kersh

It's been refreshing hearing all the different ideas coming from this post. Thank you.
I would like to add another request. What are your thoughts about bore size? Do you think it really matters? And if so, why?

forrest

Honestly, I think bore size is secondary to mouthpiece selection.

I had a Martin Magna LB Cornet that had a "big" sound like my LB Lawler does, but the sound wasn't as good to my ear. The Selmer K-modified is a non-shepherd's crook and a ML bore by comparison. It sounds different (a great jazzy sound), but I'm not sure if it's because of the non-shepherd's crook or because of it being a ML bore.

If you're wanting to do brass band stuff, I'm guessing most players use a large bore shepherd's crook horn.