I've got far too many horns and need to thin the herd some, so here's three up for sale.
Conn Monster Eb: Serial number seems to put this at 1926/27, and it's a factory 4 valve. Overall in great shape, all valves and slides move nicely, and the valves seem to have been replated at some point in the past. I have two more of these monsters, so at least one has to go, and this is the one that gets the least playing time (generally because it spends its life on loan to other people
). Plays like a fairly typical monster Eb to me, and I've found the shallower the mouthpiece, the better everything is on the horn overall (current is a G&W Bora). I also typically use a sousaphone bit in the horn when I play, and can include one in the sale if wanted. Hard case is included, but is not in fantastic shape.Conn 25J: This is the one that hurts me to sell. I played a Bb on it for fun years ago and bought it on the spot just because I loved that note so much. Unfortunately, back issues prevent me from playing this horn anymore, or I absolutely would not sell it. It's got that great big Conn sound these horns always have, along with the typical intonation quirks. I've never found them unmanageable or distracting, but your mileage may vary. I'll include a bit in the sale of this one. Overall the horn is in very good shape, but the bell is probably the star here.
Hawkes and Son Eb: I don't know a whole lot about this one. When I bought it, the amount of dirt I cleaned out makes me suspect it must have spent time underground, nothing else explains it. 3+1, but I've never encountered another horn in this configuration before. It does need a small shank mouthpiece, I've enjoyed playing it with either a Wick 2 or a Schilke 67 depending on my mood. In all honesty, despite being the most worn out of the three horns I'm selling, this one's probably the best player. Funnily enough, it's also spent much of my ownership out on loan to other people, and having played next to it on quite a few concerts, it makes a killer horn for the top split, but keeps up fine in the lower register. Also a really nice solo horn, it's got a much sweeter sound than I'm used to out of Eb's.
I've performed on all three of these horns and listened to both the Eb's be performed on as well, so I know they do just fine in a performance setting. That said, if you want a point and shoot horn, these are not the horns for you. All three take some effort to play in tune, but a lot of that can be mitigated with mouthpiece choice. My personal philosophy has always been to play horns whose sound I love and worry about the rest as secondary concerns, but I know that is backwards from many (perhaps most) people. I don't want to give the impression that any of these three are a pain to play, but I don't want to give anyone false expectations, and I'd rather they exceed too low of expectations than fail to meet higher ones.
I don't have a great idea of what any of these horns is worth, so I'm going to start at $2500 each. Please feel free to tell me I'm insane and make a counter offer. I'm willing to ship at the buyer's expense via whatever method is preferred. I'm also willing to drive a fair distance to avoid shipping whether it be all the way or to meet partway. Horns are located in El Paso, TX. You can pm me or email me at 1gnevdan@gmail.com, whichever you'd prefer.
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