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Good Morning,
Tuba-playing wife and I just moved and got our deposit back from the landlord (quite a feat with three young kids). Since this is money we didn't plan on having and is entirely outside of our budget, we want to blow some of it on something fun. We have a Besson Sovereign BBb 994 and nothing to accompany it. Obviously we aren't going to get something that matches it for $300-$400, but we can live with that. I'm guessing we can get a better alto/tenor horn than euphonium/baritone for that price, so I'll be talking about those horns, but feel free to point out any decent playing bigger instruments in our price range if you know of any. (that and the kids will be able to handle the smaller horn sooner than the bigger horn, they are cute puffing on the Besson, and the 6 year-old can get a decent tone, but it's a wee bit big for them)

So, alto/tenor horns in Eb. Obviously we would say yes to a used Yamaha or Besson and no to anything that says Mendini, Cecilio, Selman, Merano, Durand, Rossetti (why is the list of bad instruments so long? have I mischaracterized some of these?), or doesn't even have a name. Unfortunately no one is offering used horns on Ebay or anywhere else at the moment, just the bottom feeder horns. What is there in between the reputable makers and the junk (that is worth playing)?

I see that Dillon has a house brand almost in our price range (as long as we ignore shipping). (http://www.dillonmusic.com/c-617-dillon ... horns.aspx) Are these horns any good? I don't really care who they are made by, I just care that they play in tune and sound halfway decent (with the intonation being a higher priority, we aren't likely to be playing in public any time soon).

Thanks for the advice,
Phillip

philnotfil wrote:Unfortunately no one is offering used horns on Ebay or anywhere else at the moment, just the bottom feeder horns.

That's funny, I see about 20 used alto horns on Ebay.

I'm pretty sure there's a discussion forum like this devoted to alto horns, where folks might be a little better informed than we are.

As I am not in the US, I am not sure whether this link works as intended for you:

http://instruments.shop.ebay.com/i.html ... m270.l1311

My own modern alto horn is a Courtois, which aside from the missing trigger, is good. When I taught and tested instruments for myself and others, the most reliable of the more approachable models was the Yamaha Saxhorn version, that is the one with the valves over the top bow. Only disclaimer (again aside from the missing trigger) is about the first generation having severe problems with flaking and bubbling nickel plating on the pistons. Haven’t played one since 1998 though.

Klaus

You will find that JUPITER do a very nice tenor/alto horn. I have owned several of their instruments, including trumpets, cornets & euphoniums. They are light weight, but well made, play in tune and are easy to blow for a younger person. Parts are usually easily available, and there is a good distribution/backup service in the US. Ideal startup or intermediate horn. Search for a used one. They do have some resale value also, which may not always be the case with other Asian instruments.

The Jupiter alto I tried (there may be other models) had an absolutely horrible lead pipe angle, which resulted in a painful twist of my right hand.

Klaus

Phil

I purchased a Schiller E flat horn after reading good reviews on their "British style" baritone horn. I had intended to use it in a brass band forming in my area. The band has not materialised (sadly and after much hard work), and I have no real use for the E Flat horn. As a mainly low brass player, I found the horn very easy to get used to and play. Plays well in tune and looks great. This one was played for about three weeks, when we thought the band could form. It has been sitting in its very nice formed case since. The original selling price plus shipping was around $450, I could part with it for a reasonable offer over $325. Shipping anywhere in the US could be arranged. Let me know if you have an interest, Id be glad to send pics.

Donn wrote:

philnotfil wrote:Unfortunately no one is offering used horns on Ebay or anywhere else at the moment, just the bottom feeder horns.

I'm pretty sure there's a discussion forum like this devoted to alto horns, where folks might be a little better informed than we are.

Try this: http://amazingforums.com/forum1/TENORHORN/forum.html I have not dug too deep into it, but it looks OK.

A student model I've had pretty good experiences with is the B&M Champion. I even prefered this in many regards to Besson Sovereign I was given when I played tenor horn in a band for a couple of gigs. They tend to go here for around £100 ($165?) So maybe worth checking out if you can find one?

jr2262euph wrote:Phil

I purchased a Schiller E flat horn after reading good reviews on their "British style" baritone horn. I had intended to use it in a brass band forming in my area. The band has not materialised (sadly and after much hard work), and I have no real use for the E Flat horn. As a mainly low brass player, I found the horn very easy to get used to and play. Plays well in tune and looks great. This one was played for about three weeks, when we thought the band could form. It has been sitting in its very nice formed case since. The original selling price plus shipping was around $450, I could part with it for a reasonable offer over $325. Shipping anywhere in the US could be arranged. Let me know if you have an interest, Id be glad to send pics.

I haven't sold any of the JinBao Alto's yet,
but if they're players, that's a good deal!
Al

Thanks for all of the feedback. I'll be getting in touch with jr2262euph and working something out.

@bloke- I know exactly what you mean with the 20k's. One of my college marching bands bought a bunch of new 20k's to "match" their old ones. They looked about the same, but man, were those things completely different instruments. Definitely not built to be used by people who didn't own them. Really opened my eyes to the difference between the name and who built it. Which is frustrating, because life was so much easier when you could look at the name and have an idea of what kind of quality to expect.

Got the horn last week, a delightful little thing. Surprisingly big sound. I haven't played a tenor horn in ten or twelve years, so no recent experience to compare it to, but it complements our beast of a tuba nicely when playing duets. We are happy with it. Thanks jr2262euph.

Our four year-old daughter thinks that it is her tuba