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Thread: Name That Horn

  1. Name That Horn

    Found this beauty in the basement of our church this evening. She's a little beat up, but she plays beautifully. The valves are bone dry and the mouthpiece absolutely will not come out, but I played higher than I've ever played before, and with very little effort.

    Any idea what it is?

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    Wessex Dolce

    "Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"

  2. #2
    Not a clue! Can you give us a couple shots of the front of the bell section? That's usually where the logo would be.
    Last edited by davewerden; 03-30-2019 at 02:24 PM.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,362
    In terms of the ferrules, valve caps, valve markings, etc., it looks a LOT like my 1924 Eb tuba (but it's obviously a baritone/euph). It's quite possibly older. The fact that it doesn't have an 'L' on the second valve may indicate that it's high pitch. Get a tuner and see what the actual pitch of the open horn is.

    Although it looks like the Buescher, there are no Buescher markings on it. But it sure LOOKS like my Buescher. It also is a lot like a 1909 Buescher Tenor horn in Bb.

    Here's a picture of my 1924 tuba, and a catalog photo of the 1909 tenor horn. I'd guess it's not as old as the 1909. If it's not a Buescher, it's definitely something similar.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails BuescherAfterWork.jpg   1909 Buescher Tenor.JPG  
    Last edited by ghmerrill; 03-26-2019 at 06:59 AM.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  4. It looks a LOT like that 1909 except the locale of the spit valve. Good eye!

    I'll be back up there later today and will try to sneak downstairs for more pictures.
    Wessex Dolce

    "Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"

  5. #5
    Closely looking at the bell in the second picture, you can see some outlines of where I think the logo is (or once was). Looks like it's a burst shape of some nature, but doesn't match the Buescher perfectly. A clear picture of that section should help, as Dave suggested as well.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,362
    If it is a Buescher, the serial number would put it as 1913 vintage. The horizontal 2nd valve is unusual in baritone/euphonium Bb instruments, and seems to have virtually disappeared in that group after 1910. I've been looking on a number of sites and can't find anything that looks more like it than that catalog picture of the Buescher tenor horn.

    It may have been buffed heavily at some point in its life. The silver plating on those horns (certainly on my 1924) was substantial, and you could get "double" or "triple" thickness as options. So you could buff your heart away and not hit brass.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  7. I ran out of time to hit the basement before having to deal with the littles, but I'll try again later this week. I also sent these pictures to our local repair shop so they could give me a quote for restoration. They'd have to send it off for re-plating though.

    Gary, I'm kinda amazed by your historical knowledge.
    Wessex Dolce

    "Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,362
    Quote Originally Posted by lzajmom View Post
    Gary, I'm kinda amazed by your historical knowledge.
    My historical knowledge is really pretty lame. It's just that I learned a bunch about Buescher tubas when I got mine. And I've had a lot of experience with information mining and retrieval.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  9. #9
    I'm not so sure it was made by Buescher. They tended to use all telescopic braces and stays and the photos show an instrument with fixed stays. Also, knurling pattern on the valve caps and the majority of the valve buttons doesn't match any photos of other instruments by Buescher I can find, although they could have been changed or could have used different designs at different times.

    Lots of instruments at the time were made with similar patterns though. I agree with the thought that it's early 20th century.

    I don't think it's worth putting $1000+ into restoration. Typically the ones worth restoring are the ones made by famous makers, or with special engraving, or that are really unique designs or historically significant.
    --
    Barry

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,362
    Barry makes some good points. The knurling on my 1924 Buescher are all cross-hatched, but the ones on this specimen are not. In addition, even in 1909 Buescher was using the "True Tone" trademark on its instruments, and this instrument shows no evidence of that engraved logo on the rear of the 2nd valve where it would be expected to be. It looks as though there was some sort of logo or trademark there, but it appears to have been buffed off if there was.

    So I guess I'd call it "Buescher-like". However, there were a number of manufacturers at that point and several of them had very similar designs. In particular, Buescher had worked for Conn for about twenty (?) years, and certainly borrowed a lot from that experience.

    I agree that it's not worth putting much into in terms of repair (or certainly restoration). The finish is very worn in a lot of places, and I'd bet that its high pitch. If it is, then playing with a modern ensemble would be unpleasant for everyone involved. And modifying it to A=440 would be costly and probably not entirely satisfactory.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

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