Euphonium pictures (show us your horns!)

[RickF]

Nice John. If you show us a picture of bagpipes I think I'll unsubscribe from this thread.

[daruby]

My list looks just like John Morgan's, except it only has the first two items from part 1 of his posting. That's it!!!! (It was not always thus...)

Doug

[John Morgan]

Nice John. If you show us a picture of bagpipes I think I'll unsubscribe from this thread.

I was toying with the idea, I really, really used to have a set of bagpipes and Linda and I went to bagpipe classes for a while. But, alas, they are now a long-forgotten memory. But I do enjoy a good piper and band (sometimes). So, no immediate worries, Rick!

[John Morgan]

My list looks just like John Morgan's, except it only has the first two items from part 1 of his posting. That's it!!!! (It was not always thus...)

Doug

Doug,

I knew you were a picker, too!! Just like those guys on TV (American Picker). I just can't quite bear to part with anything I have right now. All three euphoniums get used. Both trombones do, although the bass not for a while now. The pBone I would keep if not to just hang from the wall in the garage or something like that. The piano is marvelous and can be enjoyed long after my brass days are over, which will be never. The guitar gets played occasionally, but I don't have a gig with that like I used to. Most of the other decorations will hang around. So, I highly suspect in a couple years my inventory will look just about like it does now. And that's the way, I like it, uh huh, uh huh, that's the way I like it!

John

[iMav]

I guess I need to get my trombones, trumpet, harmonicas, bass guitars, and various percussion instruments documented.

[notaverygoodname]

Ok. If you guys are going to post random instruments, I guess THERE'S MORE! Behold the power of the collector hobbyist!


Some kinda B&F Stencil (Probably Goumat) Eb Contrabass, Neotech Brass Sling
JK Exclusive 1A 7.6 + 11.7mm adapter
Yep. Besson medium shank. This thing actually can play in tune at A=440, and it's pretty fun. This is about as big as I go. I have the stock mouthpiece, and with it, this horn is clearly designed for playing in a very tiny range including false pedal tones. Basically drop octave bass parts for hymns. With a more suitable mouthpiece, it can actually play real music. At least as well as I am able to make it play. Using a smaller mouthpiece and Bb Horn fingerings enables the real fun! I also have a non-playable Eb Bombardon (Bass Saxhorn) from roughly the same era which is even smaller, but also uses Besson medium shank.

~1955 H.N. White Trombonium, pictured with custom bell for lolz, Neotech Brass Sling
JK Exclusive 12G
Meet the reason I stopped buying antique American made instruments. The Trombonium is actually a really good horn when you overcome two things. The first is the undocumented fact that it requires a very small mouthpiece. 6.5AL is completely wrong. The second is the undocumented fact that it has a proprietary receiver!! I reamed mine to work, but the original shank is likely ~10.5mm @ 1:19. Same taper as Conn Precision Tenor, but smaller tip. Pretty sure this is the same as that proprietary Olds Tenor shank, but never bothered to confirm it. There is no reason to maintain the original proprietary receiver for any of these things.

Nuvo jHorn
JK Exclusive EFL 1B, 9.8mm Trumpet Shank
By some miracle, my very first prototype Mellophone mouthpiece attempt works super well on the jHorn. This is a fun instrument, and great for goofing around and learning various techniques. Not really ensemble worthy, but it's worth owning.



Berkeleywind Fiscorn in C (rebranded JinYin)
I have not yet figured out how to tame this thing. It has a needlessly proprietary 11.25mm shank receiver, and the stock mouthpiece isn't very good. Really fantastic sound with all of the intonation issues combined of a Euphonium, Flugelhorn, and Saxhorn at the same time. So best of luck with that. Also an ergonomic nightmare because of how heavy it is. But man is it pretty.

pBone Mini - Alto Trombone
Obviously, a guy like myself that has a history of playing alto trash should own an Alto Trombone, and this one was very cheap. I was never really convinced that Trombone players had any idea what they were doing with these things, but I finally got around to testing mouthpieces with this. Sure enough, it does kind of work with a 6.5AL. It's a really stupid idea, but it works.

pBuzz
A slide vuvuzela in something like 2'C with a massive bore that plays with a 11mm shank Trombone mouthpiece. What could go wrong? Oh right. Everything. Don't buy one of these. Fun fact: the stock mouthpiece is the same size as the pBone mini's.



Bundy Trumpet
JK Exclusive Trumpet-Classic 2D
This was the Trumpet I used in high school. There is nothing special about it, except for the twist tie mod that lets me play low F.

Eb Ventilfanfare
JK Baroque Trumpet 3C, 10mm shank
This is not an Alto Trumpet. This is effectively a Fanfare Trumpet (modernized Natural Trumpet) with valves. These instruments are used for Fanfarenzug, which is like a European version of Bugle Corps, AFAIK. Using Bb Horn fingerings, you can legitimately play Bb Trumpet music on this. Excellent way to show the members of your section who the real man is. Until you need to use a mute, anyways. It is impossible to reach the bell while playing.

Wessex Bass Trumpet BT-1, heavy valve buttons, modded bottom caps, leather thingy that doesn't even fit
Super custom WIP mouthpiece
Mega hateful instrument that requires a mouthpiece that doesn't even exist. You can use a Baroque Trumpet mouthpiece if you need to whip your embouchure into shape super fast.



H.N. White Cornet
The Cornet I used in high school. Nothing special about it. Run of the mill student model.

A. Stark Cornet, short action valves!
I don't have a proper shank for this, but I have tried stacking a bunch of tuning bits and stuff to use a Trumpet mouthpiece before. The short action valves and huge .468" bore are really something! This horn is an excellent example for all the dummies that think the Cornet is conical. Even without the shank, there's seriously like 2 feet of cylindrical tubing on this very vintage instrument.

"The piece of junk"
The piece of junk is a WW1 style stencil rotary Cornet. These models were advertised as having a sound more like a Trumpet, for some reason. The original leadpipe was a mega short thing that used a Trumpet mouthpiece. Someone has replaced it with a leadpipe from some kind of Flugelhorn or Parforcehorn. I "shimmed" it with JB Weld so that I can use a normal Cornet mouthpiece, but it is only possible to play in A, now.

Verdeau Bugle or Clarion Flugelhorn conversion
I really need to get a decent leadpipe for this, but regardless. This kind of Soprano Tuba thing doesn't work that well. The horn plays ok with some effort, but the sound is basically like an alto instrument or something. Mega loud, but not very satisfying.



1984 Орфей TARV Trumpet
Don't buy one of these unless you are willing to spend the money to have the receiver replaced, and still have a Trumpet that isn't good at being a Trumpet. This one is setup for the 10.25mm shank mouthpieces that the other rotaries used. I have one, but that's not what I want to play on a "Jazztrumpet". Some of the others might be configured for 10mm shank, which is also not what you want. Like other Soviet-era Kiev horns, the springs are stiff. Trilling is nearly impossible.

1959 ЗДМИ Rotary Trumpet
JK Exclusive Trumpet-Classic 2D A3, 10.25mm shank
The goofy shank is mega annoying for what would otherwise be my favorite Trumpet. Big ol' orchestral sound.

1976 Орфей TARV Cornet
The most Cornet of Cornets. With the correct adapter, 10mm shank is perfectly fine to work with. You get the bell coming out the bottom of the first valve, as it should. Not much to complain about with this one, besides the nuisance of the valve rotation. Again, I don't think they did much trilling in Soviet Ukraine.

1993 ЗДМИ Корнет
JK Exclusive Baroque Trumpet 3B, 8.7mm shank + 10mm adapter
Russian language traditionally doesn't distinguish between Cornets and Flugelhorns, so uhh...what do you call this thing? Russian Cornet? It has a pedal tone, but it's certainly not a Flugelhorn. It's alright.

Amati Flugelhorn
JK Exclusive FL 2C, 10mm shank
As is tradition for Soviet Czechoslovakia, real Flugelhorns were used, rather than the standard Russian military band instrumentation. This was my Flugelhorn in high school. It's war torn, but still perfectly functional.



1972 Olds Marching Mellophone
My nemesis for life. Ziggy Stardust doomed us all to an eternity of torture when he invented this awful thing. It is possible to get it to play intune, but to get it to sound good? Forget it. Absolutely dumpster fire.

1990 Amati Kraslice AMP 204I Marching Mellophone
JK Exclusive EFL 1C 4.8, 9.8mm shank, L.72
I managed to snag this practically NOS condition horn on ebay. What a steal, and what an improvement over the Olds. Ok, the leadpipe is rubbish and more mouthpiece hateful than ever, but it sounds WAY better.

1980s DEG / Willson Marching Alto
JK Exclusive EFL 1C 4.8, 9.8mm shank, L.82
This horn uses an actual 9.8mm Trumpet shank mouthpiece, rather than the shorter Alto Horn style. Boy oh boy, what a treat. If you ignore the horrible ergonomics and the fact that it's just freaking hideous, this is the BEST of the alto trash. To hold this thing, you need to reach all the way around to get your fingers on the leadpipe. Oof. But hey. .490" bore, beautiful warm sound, and great intonation with the right mouthpiece.

1972 Conn 16E Mellophonium, satin silver without gold wash
JK Exclusive EFL 1C 4.8, 8.8mm shank
I have the proper stock mouthpiece for this, as well as a custom mouthpiece with proper shank! If you have neither of those things, don't even bother. Mega mouthpiece hateful instrument with some of the worst pitch center of all time. If you cannot play blow-to-pitch, again don't even bother. Crazy loud. Reports of this horn being difficult to play high are incorrect. It might not sound good, or play intune, but you can easily force it up there. It's .500" bore. Just blow harder.



1929 Couesnon Eb Cor-Alto (Tenor Cor)
Accidentally obtained a suitable Courtois mouthpiece for this which further allowed me to figure this thing out. It plays better with smaller backbore mouthpieces, so I actually have a custom 7.5mm to 9.7mm adapter so that I can use French Horn mouthpieces. You then jam your hand up the bell until you can reach 8th partial and it's go time. Not a terrible instrument once you sort it out.

York F/Eb Mellophone
JK Exclusive C 1A, 9.5mm shank
In Eb, with a more suitable smaller mouthpiece like this, this horn actually rips. Crazy high range potential and much better intonation than expected. Not the most fantastic tone quality when you're expecting the usual alto fluff, but totally a contender against the Alto Saxophone.

Getzen Frumpet
In some ways, this horn is amazing. In others, it's tragic. It's completely untamable because the French Horn receiver hamstrings the potential backbore size of the mouthpiece. Great sound, amazing look. Super fun. Ergonomics are actually fine when you realize it's made for marching.

1981 King Altonium
JK Exclusive EFL 1C 4.8, 7.5mm shank
This is not a very good instrument, and I can't believe they still made them in 1981. With my very custom mouthpiece, I get 10 viable partials! The worst ones are 2 and 4, and that's kind of a problem. But forget that! 10 partials that you can rip into tune. A world record, for sure. Don't buy one of these.



1966 Conn 14C Alto Horn
JK Exclusive A 2D, 9.8mm shank
Fantastic instrument with suspect intonation. Yeah, Marching Mellophone looks cooler. It also sounds way worse, and isn't that much better in terms of intonation given how useless all the mouthpieces are.

1968 Орфей Ovalform Alto Horn
Really fun player with great responsiveness. Also has intonation so bad that I can't even figure out what the correct shank is. Maybe it's 10mm or maybe it's 10.25mm? Dunno!

1967 ЗДМИ Alto Tuba
JK PA1B, 10.5mm shank
Yep. It's as big as a British Baritone Horn and it plays amazingly well. This is what every band director wishes their alto trash would do. Great intonation. Deafeningly loud. Bold sound. Get one.



Xinghai Double Horn
JK Exclusive 2DM A1 AF EX
Super OG Chinesium from when they used nickle-chromium plating! For whatever reason, this horrible low quality horn is just perfect for me. I get stupid high range and great playability from it. Combined with my taste in mouthpieces, there is nothing that I can't technically do with this horn. My talent level is the limit. I will likely never replace this horn.



And finally, my thousands of dollars worth of custom and not-custom Josef Klier mouthpieces. Well, the Kanstul French Horn to Tenor adapter isn't JK, but that's the only one I have in there that's not. Some of these aren't getting used anymore because I've gotten things that are better, or they were prototypes. Notable examples are my full range of 7.6mm throat mouthpieces on small shank (see if your custom guy will do that), the custom Tuba mouthpiece where I successfully reverse engineered Besson medium shank in one try, and my many high quality adapters which were probably a great annoyance to Maximilian Klier.

[John Morgan]

notaverygoodname,

That is an amazing collection you have. I believe you are the hands down winner on "most" instruments! You could start a small museum! Pretty impressive.

[daruby]

notaverygoodname, I believe you are the hands down winner on "most" instruments! You could start a small museum! Pretty impressive.

Our friends Barry Bocaner has not listed his collection here. I am pretty certain he would win the "He who has the most Toys" award. In addition to full sets of brass band, wind band, and orchestral trombone, euphonium, and baritone, he also has a complte set of Sackbuts, Civil War brass, and a pipe organ in his house. I think he probably wouldnt post pictures however. His wife is most understanding.

[notaverygoodname]

Our friends Barry Bocaner has not listed his collection here. I am pretty certain he would win the "He who has the most Toys" award. In addition to full sets of brass band, wind band, and orchestral trombone, euphonium, and baritone, he also has a complte set of Sackbuts, Civil War brass, and a pipe organ in his house. I think he probably wouldnt post pictures however. His wife is most understanding.

Aha! But does he have custom mouthpieces with reverse engineered shanks to get the best possible performance out of them?

Yeah, I don't have civil war horn money. Honestly, there's only a few more instruments I have an interest in. Single F Wagner Tuba would be nice after wanting one for decades, but I can't buy what isn't for sale. I'd bust my credit to get a playable 30-I with an unmodified leadpipe for the right price. I also have some fixation on trying one of those travel Tubas with a really small mouthpiece to see how it sounds, but I'm not sure how willing I am to mess with making it work. Other than that, I'm basically out of space, and I don't have the skills/embouchure to really enjoy anything that could qualify as a real Tuba.

[Shinn]

Not fueling any competition, but sharing a link to another avid collector especially civil war era instruments - Eric Totman.

http://www.horncollector.com/