TubeNet

There is a King on the auction site right now that is 3 years old...seller states that it is "Clean but not polished." Per an email he said it is just a little tarnished and would polish right up. From the looks of it, its been fired in a kiln. Is it just a little dirty and needs a cleaning, or is the finish in real trouble? Any opinions?

Thanks for any input?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... eName=WDVW

The underside of the bell looks like it has been cooked.I wonder if the horn has been in a fire-while standing on the bell.

Looks to me like this horn is just plagued by schmutz and tarnish. The original silver plating is probably OK and it looks like some of the added parts are just raw brass. The horn could have been stored in a place that accellerated the tarnish process... IE.. around a ventless gas heater or in a basement. Why not email the seller or give Lee Stofer a shout and see if he can shed some light on the horn.

Here's what a silverplated King horn looks like after years of being a tarnish factory --



This tortoiseshell beauty has a few dents on the main bow, plus a few dings up to the bell, but if you look closely you'll see that the rest of the pipes are all straight and the braces are all original King factory pieces.

The one on eBay, to me, looks like it's in really good shape. If the bell has even been repaired, it's been done extremely well. My relatively untrained eyes don't see soldering remnants anywhere except maybe the mouthpiece receiver section, and the 5th valves looks like it's got a modified pipe, but everything else looks free of abuse. I'd rock it if I was in the market.

Leland wrote:Here's what a silverplated King horn looks like after years of being a tarnish factory --

This tortoiseshell beauty has a few dents on the main bow, plus a few dings up to the bell, but if you look closely you'll see that the rest of the pipes are all straight and the braces are all original King factory pieces.

Poor thing. You should really polish her up.

Awsone horn, I played Wade's (it needs even more polishing). Wish I had the cash to buy one (yes, I know where I could get one).

ThomasDodd wrote:

Leland wrote:Here's what a silverplated King horn looks like after years of being a tarnish factory --

Poor thing. You should really polish her up.

That's the original photo that the previous owner sent to me. He had gotten it from a percussion student some years before, eventually putting it up for sale on the old TubeNet with the line, "King K-90 nonchromatic contrabass bugle. Make an offer."

I just had to give it a good home (plus having my repair guy work it over) --

Het oracle wollte dire:

"So many aftermarket investments and the original owner still doesn't want to keep it?

That is an extremely sure indication for staying far far away from this dog!"

Carolus Derecommendarius cum Dogownerius (specius: limbiae quadrophonicae)

Maybe the owner needs the money badly right now. Maybe he has a physical condition that prevents playing the tuba. Maybe he heeds a smaller / bigger horn for his current playing. Don't always assume the worst when selling a horn. I have had to sell a number of horns over the years for some of the aforementioned reasons. Non were dogs, 1 was just average, but two were very good, and one or two were outright spectacular. (And I will never say which is which, although the "average" one was sold almost a decade ago.)

Besides, one man's dog is another man's best friend. Maybe the fifth valve didn't work the way this guy hoped it would; but it might be just the thing someone else needs.
_________________________________
Joe Baker, who would be trying that horn if he could afford it.

Doctores sunt capalitantes jetzt:

So just go ahead and take your 3rd degree burn from this suspect deal!

Carolus Marximus saddeneficatus par het involvementarium de Lee Stofer, het Nobilitarius Ottonarius

I bought it, and its amazing. As with any blind instrument purchase, there is risk. However this maybe the best deal I have ever had on ebay. Horn plays wonderfully. After shopping for a used King for some time, I found that they are pretty rare as owners tend to keep them.

One note, put this under the Lee Stofer did a great job category. I have played several Kings and was apprehensive about what a 5th valve would do to the playability. Lee did a great job and the 5th valve will open up a lot of doors.