TubeNet

All right, TubeNetters...is this worth $600 plus 4 hours' driving?

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/atq/4081626136.html

It looks playable-but-not-extremely-playable (which is fine, as I would consider it a toy). The look of the thing, especially the wacky leadpipe, is what has me intrigued.

The leadpipe is legit. It's most likely a Cerveny. Could be a good horn if the rotors are tight. Here's one I owned a while back.

Any new toy is worth it! Go for it! It is rather wacky, but $600 for a unique and (hopefully) playable 4-valve horn isn't bad in my book...

Two things to consider:
Does it play at or close to A=440? If it is a little low, there seems to be enough cylindrical tubing at the end of the leadpipe that it could be shortened. Rebending may be necessary, depending on how much is removed. If it was high pitch, extensions can be made for the main slide.

Does it play in tune with itself? This is much harder, if not impossible, to fix. Try a variety of mouthpieces if possible; many older horns were not setup for the very deep mouthpieces some people use today. There may always be the odd funky partial that can be fixed with alternate fingerings, but if the octaves seem more like 7ths or 9ths, run away!

MartyNeilan wrote:Two things to consider:
Does it play at or close to A=440? If it is a little low, there seems to be enough cylindrical tubing at the end of the leadpipe that it could be shortened. Rebending may be necessary, depending on how much is removed. If it was high pitch, extensions can be made for the main slide.

Does it play in tune with itself? This is much harder, if not impossible, to fix. Try a variety of mouthpieces if possible; many older horns were not setup for the very deep mouthpieces some people use today. There may always be the odd funky partial that can be fixed with alternate fingerings, but if the octaves seem more like 7ths or 9ths, run away!

You are very correct about trying different mouthpieces, Marty. I had a new Cerveny C/Bb euph and the octaves didn't line up. Cerveny shipped the horn with an 11C mouthpiece. I put a 3G on the horn and that solved the octaves problem and improved the tone.

Ace

I would get it for the price. Probably a decent horn for the money and you can play test it before buying. I'm pretty sure you could break even with it if you sold it on eBay.

That is a turn of the century cerveny. The horn I had was almost identical. Those horns had a magical alloy... the sound is wonderful. High register played well. It is a 5/4. The antique rotor stops are very problematic. Like taking a Model T on a Sunday drive. The rotors don't wear out or leak... they are tapered. If it wasn't for the rotor stops it would be a wonderful BBb. Yes, it is a toy but will sound better than most any other BBbs. worth around 2K.
I have some pictures somewhere of my Holton 345, York 6/4 BBb and the Cerveny. The Cerveny makes the other horns look small. Funny thing... I found mine in an antique shop painted white with a bird nest in the bell. Some kind of art piece. Just talking about it makes me wish I still had it. I hate selling horns. GO GET IT!