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I have a Conn 24/25 J horn that the lacquer is pretty much gone from and am considering getting is silver plated. Does anyone know how much and where would be a good place to get it done? Thanks.

Jim

That's gonna be expensive and not something that can be easily quoted. Call the experts:

Anderson Silver Plating
541 Industrial Parkway
Elkhart, IN 46516

Phone: (574) 294-6447

It's the plating AND the prep work done by the repairman to get it ready for plating.

Neither componenet is "cheap."

I looked into this about six months ago.

Anderson's the place for plating, but they don't do any of the prep work, so it would have meant shipping the horn to Wisconsin for that, then they'd ship it to Anderson for plating. The whole project would have been somewhere north of $2,000, so I passed.

Unless you are really concerned with cosmetics, I wouldn't bother. There is a story that I BELIEVE is true: There was a trombonist in a major orchestra who was given a trombone by another famous retired trombonist (purposely, I'm leaving the names out). This was one GREAT trombone, or so the story goes. The horn is sent to a well known horn technician/builder for an overhaul, which included silver plating. Very long story short, trombone gets RUINED. Never played the same, wall art, unuseable. So unless you are willing to gamble on this, FUGGEDDABOUDIT.

It's one of those things... if you plan to keep this tuba forever, and just love it, or if it has sentimental value, it might be worth it (and it could even be a better player after a full overhaul, too!). Edit -- seeing Tony's comment above -- if it's perfect as-is, I wouldn't touch it either!

But if you're looking to sell eventually, you probably won't see too high of a return on the work done... and for the price of the restoration, you might be able to just buy a silver 25J.

That said, I think it's cool when people want to (and are able to) resurrect an old tuba and give it a new life (or second or third) of service. People restore old houses, old cars, old jewelry all the time... why not tubas? Lots of tubas made 50 years ago are just as worthy today as they were then!

If you want to get your 25J plated and lookin' good, then get it done! I don't like it when people try to talk me out of things. I'm all for it. If you got the money it can be done and you will have a gorgeous looking horn afterwards. To get the horn plated at Anderson's, you will have to take it to a shop and have the whole thing prepped and dissassembled, and sent to Anderson's while taken apart (bell, large bows, valve section) , because they don't have the equippment to plate a huge horn like that. I looked into it and that's exactly what they told me. It will be expensive, maybe even close to $3,000 for everything. I did the cheaper way.. I had them replate my bell and valve section with new silver plating. And I just polished the rest up to look as good as possible. I believe it cost roughly around $1700 if I remember correctly. But, if you got the money, they got the time! Good luck

TUbajohn20J wrote: To get the horn plated at Anderson's, you will have to take it to a shop and have the whole thing prepped and disassembled, and sent to Anderson's while taken apart (bell, large bows, valve section) , because they don't have the equipment to plate a huge horn like that.

Oh come on! I have plated a lot of tuba overhauls and in most cases completely soldered. ASP has a 39'' capacity. You don't send tubas in sub-assemblies unless it is a partial repair. The horns 24/25J bell is detachable and that puts it well within 39''.

Yes, you will need to send it into a shop to have it prepared for plate. The shop will then send it on to ASP. Cost? depends on the extent of work needed to prep and your location (shipping).


Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
http://www.oberloh.com" target="_blank

..Then Andersons gave me false information!!! Oh well the horn still turned out great

I had a friend that found an old Besson euphonium in somebody's attic in really nice condition except the lacquer. No dents or any mechanical flaws needed fixing. I took it to Kanstul for my friend and they stripped it, buffed it and silver plated it for me for for about $750. But that was 3 years ago.... and I know Zig.... But their tank isn't as big as Anderson's, so if you need something large plated you still need to go to Wisconsin. The reason Kanstul makes their large BBb tubas and GG contrabasses with detachable bells is that the complete horn won't fit in their tank for plating unless the bell comes off.

Bandmaster wrote:But their tank isn't as big as Anderson's, so if you need something large plated you still need to go to Wisconsin.

Um ... Wisconsin

Wouldn't it be quicker and cheaper just to ship it directly to Anderson (Elkhart, IN) instead of traveling all the way to WI and shipping it from there?

pgym wrote:

Bandmaster wrote:But their tank isn't as big as Anderson's, so if you need something large plated you still need to go to Wisconsin.

Um ... Wisconsin

Wouldn't it be quicker and cheaper just to ship it directly to Anderson (Elkhart, IN) instead of traveling all the way to WI and shipping it from there?

I guess if you found yourself in Wisconsin you could have it done at Badger State. For an idea of what their overhaul/replates look like, just check out some of the auctions on eBay by MrStregs.
http://tinyurl.com/5teg7m3" target="_blank" target="_blank

Or, buy this!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Elkhart-Conn-25J-4- ... 0722349573" target="_blank

Looks nice! I have no clue if it's a good price or not, but this seller usually prices things right in the "not a deal, not a ripoff" range.

bort wrote:Or, buy this!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Elkhart-Conn-25J-4- ... 0722349573" target="_blank" target="_blank

Looks nice! I have no clue if it's a good price or not, but this seller usually prices things right in the "not a deal, not a ripoff" range.

I have dealt with Quinn on a horn and was treated well. If you are into saxophone dorn, look at some of his other auctions. Good lookin' stuff.

Thanks for all of the notes on this. I may just get the bell done, still thinking about it. I also had a friend suggest taking the bell to an automotive shop and have it chromed. That seems a little out there even for me.

Hi J,

I do hope you realize that for the amount of money you will spend silver plating your 25J, you can get TWO silver 25Js on the bay (they show up regularly).

A suggestion: have the remaining lacquer stripped and buffed--a 25J in its natural raw brass state would be way cool.

JJ