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Thread: aloha! New member!

  1. #1

    Talking aloha! New member!

    hello all

    I am a new member on the forum, and I might as well be a new euphonium player - I haven't played for more than 10 years!

    However, I previously played for 15 years, and I missed playing so much, I went and found an old horn for sale on Craigslist, and bought it! I haven't really been trained other than playing in school bands.

    The horn is a Conn New Wonder 84I euphonium. It looks like it might have been issued to the Navy at some point in time. It's in decent condition, although the plating is wearing off in many spots, and there are several dents in it. Has anyone heard anything about these horns? My research says it was likely made in the 1940's!

    I'm using a 6 1/2 AL mouthpiece at this point - it's what I learned on, so I'm comfortable with it. Do you think it's been limiting me in terms of range? I'm capping out at around the high Bb or C. Is there anything to be gained by moving to a larger/deeper mouthpiece?

    I feel like the Conn has some intonation problems, and has questionable response, but since it's been many years since I've played, and my chops aren't up to par, I'm willing to wait to see if it's something that will get better with time.

    I have a Bach student baritone that I learned on, and that's it. I eventually want to consider either restoring this old Conn horn, or possibly buying a new one - but it's hard to audition horns in Hawaii, we don't have any place around here that stocks euphoniums. I've played on intermediate level Yamaha and Holton euphoniums, and I really like their sound and response.

    I'm guessing this old Conn is good enough for me to learn on while I get back up to playing shape, but do you think it's worth keeping in the long run, or should I just jump to a "pro level" horn already?

    Thanks all, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the music community.

  2. #2
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    Here are a few pictures of this horn.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Hidden Valley, AZ
    Posts
    1,034
    That Conn is a nice model, upright & all. As to intonation quirks, they all have 'em to some extent.

    Your Bach mouthpiece may be improved by a modern model, but that is up to your chops to decide.

    Yep, a good looking horn, worthy of restoration down the road.

    Dennis

  4. #4
    Thanks! It's a nice horn, and I'm glad I got to play it. But I decided that it's not for me. I'm going to send it to the repair shot to get the corks and felts replaced, and then it's going on craigslist!

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