Restore a King Baritone

[butch]

Hi to all

I recently bought two older King Baritones and I'm willing to restore one of them.

The first is King Artist Model Baritone 1165, SN L 432079 (which dates it to 1965-1970), silver plated. The second one is a King Cleveland Baritone 624 (I'm not absolutely sure about that), SN 769403 (which dates it to around 1975), brass, lacquered. Both have dings, the Cleveland has a dented bell and some lacquer off. Both play quite well.

I'm not sure which one I should restore. I need only one of them, does anyone has any suggestions in which instrument I should invest some money?

Thanks for all answers.
Butch

[Dan Schultz]

In terms of what King baritones (euphoniums) are worth.... I wouldn't use the term 'restoration'. Spending more than would be necessary for a 'play conditioning' would surely exceed the upper limit.

[butch]

I thought of do a serious cleaning, removing the dings and bells and add some new felts and springs. And some polishing.

Butch

PS: I didn't mean restoration, it's a bad translation from german, as I'm a native german speaker.

[dwerden]

I've played horns similar to both of the ones you mention. The Artist is my choice to fix up. The Cleveland was more of a student model, which played nicely but didn't have the power of sound of the Artist. (That opinion assumes that the condition of the Artist is relatively solid. If it is going to cost a lot more to fix up, you could consider doing the Cleveland instead.)

[Dan Schultz]

I thought of do a serious cleaning, removing the dings and bells and add some new felts and springs. And some polishing.

Butch

PS: I didn't mean restoration, it's a bad translation from german, as I'm a native german speaker.

Your English is much better than my German! You are on the right track with what you plan to do.

[butch]

hmpffff you make the rest of us look bad - only ONE horn? OMG

Well, I do have a Jupiter Sousaphone, a Besson BBb tuba and a Antoine Curtois saxhorn as well.

[butch]

Thank you all, for your answers. I think I gonna invest some money in the Artist Model, there are some dings and dents an a connection that needs soldered.

Would it be a good idea to get one of these sets?
http://www.thebandroom.biz/01_item_acti ... hp?id=1143" target="_blank

[Dan Schultz]

Thank you all, for your answers. I think I gonna invest some money in the Artist Model, there are some dings and dents an a connection that needs soldered.

Would it be a good idea to get one of these sets?
http://www.thebandroom.biz/01_item_acti ... hp?id=1143" target="_blank" target="_blank

I suppose those sets are OK as long as you are sure your horn has the original finger buttons and valve stems. I just helped a fellow out at 'Windjammers' who put felts under his fingerbuttons that were too thick. The poor old guy was ready to give up playing. He thought his chops were shot because the pitches wouldn't center when using multiple valve combinations.

If you do buy one of those 'kits', verify your valve alignment somehow. A dental mirror will help to see the ports from an adjacent cylinder.

[butch]

Meanwhile I had a loose brace soldered and I gave the baritone an extensive cleaning. I had the feeling as if this instrument had it's last cleaning somewhere in the last millennium. Although it has some scratches and minor dents it's quite ok for it's age, especially the valves.
It's fun to play. Thanks for all your advices.

Butch