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Yup. The cosmetic things are usually the easiest to fix. I stock new 'clone' bells and can easily strip the lacquer and bang out the dents.

However... the condition of the valves is pretty much a crap-shoot. A couple of bad repairs to the rotor stems can make for a real disappointing purchase.

Yeah, cosmetics are a little lacking, could use a few passes with the old dent magnets. It's nice that the rim has been outfitted with a rubber guard, to prevent further injury to innocent high school students. I am not sure the information is correct, though: "surplus high school band instrument (Miraphone 4 valve trumpet)"

bloke wrote:If I'm going to put a Chinese bell on it, I'm probably just going to buy a Chinese clone (new everything) for $1800.

I'm always fascinated, though, to see just how much people are willing to pay for stuff like this (that needs thousands of dollars of restoration).

Joe... don't 'short-change' the Asian bells. I'd much rather have a Chinese bell and German rotors than a German bell and Chinese rotors!