I Can't Believe I Bought Another Horn.

[AwayWeGo]

It Came From Outer Space.

Mirafone French horns don't show up on eBay all that often, mainly because Mirafone (now spelled Miraphone) is mainly makes tubas & no longer makes French horns. I have lost eBay auctions for Mirafone double horns maybe 3-4 times since I caught the eBay French horn bug.

So this morning The Devil made me offer about $300 less than the "buy it now" amount.

The seller accepted the offer so quick that it was amazing.

So I bought it -- paid right away via PayPal, so the horn should be showing up on a delivery truck near here before long.

USPS dropped it off by the front door yesterday afternoon.

It's an example of creative packing for sure. No box. No carton. The instrument, inside its carrying case, was wrapped in a humongous plastic bag & padded by bubble wrap. The hard-shell case was taped closed with wide tape over the latches. Then the whole shebang was encased in layers of large-cell plastic bubble wrap, which was held on with lots & lots of clear packing tape. It looked like an oversize alien cocoon from a low-budget sci-fi movie. The address label with USPS payment code was taped onto the cocoon, as were several Fragile stickers.

The horn is all there, & not totally wrecked but still in need of so much professional fixa-fixa-fixa (mostly tubing dents in hard-to-reach places) that this 1 definitely falls into the French Horn Rescue category. Even in that condition, the horn was about what I expected when I made the offer, so I recorded favorable feedback for the eBay seller.

With luck, I'll be able to get it into the hands of the brass instrument repair technician today or tomorrow. (No rush.)

Update: I took it over to the horn fixer this afternoon.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Three -- 3 -- Horns Bought (So Far) In 2012, & It's Only Mid-February.

Somebody on Craig's List was offering a newish Conn 6d that he had to sell right away (i.e., that very day) so he could pay a traffic fine.

I showed up pronto with cash in hand, made an offer that was accepted, handed over the folding money, & took home the instrument.

-- hotlinked --
Conn 6D -- Not the 1 I bought off Craig's List, but another 1 just like it.​

The horn is in extremely good condition, but it does have 1 conspicuous dent that should be easy for the repair technician to smooth out invisibly.

I don't feel I should take the 6D over for fixa-fixa till my eBay Mirafone double horn that's already being working on gets done & paid for & picked up.

Patience.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[sfwilshire]

I thought of you last week. Our favorite local auction house has started allowing on-line bidding. They had a sax, a trombone and a couple of other horns. The sax went pretty cheap, but my husband said we already had one that nobody played.

We arrived late and didn't get to check out any of the instruments. I really just wanted to look at a Grand Ol' Opry Martin guitar. It looked beautiful on the website, but they sold it just as we walked in the door. I talked to the man who bought it and hoped he'd at least let me look at it, but he didn't offer and I didn't push it. He said he already had it sold.

We bought a farm wagon to put in the yard. Not something I was excited about but my husband was. It is an Owensboro and they closed the factory in 1940, so it has to be at least that old. Some of the wood has been replaced, but I was amazed at the good condition of the "works".

Sheila

 

[AwayWeGo]

Whoa -- I Finally Sold 1.

After several unsuccessful tries, I finally got an eBay buyer for my "valvectomy" natural (valveless) horn that started out as a Buescher single French horn in the key of F.

When I got it, it was missing so many parts of its valve section that it was only fit for hanging on the wall as a decor item or conversion to a no-valve horn -- like the horns played in Mozart's day.

A local instrument repair technician removed what was left of the valve section, replacing that part with regular tubing. The resulting "valvectomy" natural horn was fun to play -- for a while. Then I got tired of it & put it on eBay.

Now that it's out of here, I can turn my attention to selling off some of the surplus complete French horns around here.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[e.bram]

I went to a concert where they played Brahms's 2nd Piano Concerto.

 

[AwayWeGo]

"French Horn Rescue" Instrument Out Of Here. Thanks, eBay.

Now that it's out of here, I can turn my attention to selling off some of the surplus complete French horns around here.

A Yamaha horn that was in pieces when I got it, & that was reassembled & repaired by the local brass instrument technician I regularly rely on, is out of here -- via eBay.

Next up on eBay (as of next Sunday evening) will be an extremely nice Craig's List Conn 6D in newish condition.

Following that, the Mirafone double horn (once the 6D goes to a new home), & after the Mirafone the Kalison (Milan) double.

Even though I am in horn disposal mode now, that doesn't keep me from bidding on more horns. The idea is to buy'm low & sell'm high. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Kalison (Milan) Topsy-Turvy Double Horn Is Now All Squared Away.

A double horn that plays in F with the thumb valve up & in B-flat with the thumb valve down, it is said to "stand" in F. Standing in F is the conventional & customary arrangement that is completely assumed & taken for granted among horn players, even though a few models of high-end double horns are equipped with reversible thumb-valve mechanisms that can be set to stand in either F or in B-flat, whichever the player prefers. Most double horns, though, are not reversible. They simply stand in F, just as practically 100% of horn players would expect.

As it happens, however, my otherwise outstanding eBay Kalison model KAB 10 "Allegri" double horn not only stands in B-flat, but it's thumb valve is not reversible. The horn stands in B-flat, period. Playing it means counteracting 55+ years of habitually playing with the thumb lever up for F & down for B-flat. I am too old for even giving that a try, so I am now the new owner of a high-end horn that is semi-unplayable unless it turns out that the instrument technician can come up with a modification that will get the 4th valve to operate permanently in reverse.

A (relatively) simple modification by the professional horn fixer converted my eBay Kalison (Milan) double horn to the conventional arrangement of "standing" in the key of F & changing via thumb-operated 4th valve to the key of B-flat.

From the factory, it stood in B-flat. Operating its thumb valve changed it to F -- backwards from virtually every professional & student-line double French horn on the market. Now, as modified, the Kalison works the same as the Yamahas & Conns & Holtons & all the other major kinds of double French horns, including Alexander & Paxman & Amati & Mirafone & I don't know what-all.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Conn 6D Is Out Of Here.

Next up on eBay (as of next Sunday evening) will be an extremely nice Craig's List Conn 6D in newish condition.

Following that, the Mirafone double horn (once the 6D goes to a new home), & after [that] the Mirafone the Kalison (Milan) double.

Conn 6D is gone -- currently on a FedEx truck headed toward delivery to its new home today.

Sill thinking of offering the Mirafone next, then the Kalison after that.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Nice Knowing Which End Of The Horn To Put The Mouthpiece In.

-- hotlinked --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

How To Play Trombone.

Let me change the instrument topic to trombone, if I may.

Click here for (brief) video instruction on the basics.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Mirafone & Kalison Horns Are Out Of Here.

Conn 6D is gone -- currently on a FedEx truck headed toward delivery to its new home today.

Sill thinking of offering the Mirafone next, then the Kalison after that.

The Mirafone has been in the hands of its new owner for several weeks.

The Kalison went out via FedEx this morning, all boxed up with plenty of little plastic-film air pillows & a bunch of styrofoam packing peanuts.

Only surplus instruments currently around here that are ready for Craig's List or eBay are a 1920s Couesnon (Paris) trumpet & an Olds Ambassador trombone.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[pedro47]

You are collecting horns like I loved to collect Nikon cameras.

 

[AwayWeGo]

You Are Correct, Sir.

You are collecting horns like I loved to collect Nikon cameras.

Too many great horns around here for all of'm to be keepers (even though I have no plans at present for selling off any more horns) . . .

Lawson-modified Alexander 103
eBay "French horn rescue" Conn 28D (Elkhart)
Lawson 804
eBay Yamaha YHR-666N
eBay Yamaha YHR-321​

Plus 1 oddball museum piece -- a pristine Jos. Lidl (Brno) compensating double horn (eBay), patterned after a 1920s design by Karl Lehmann (Berlin):

-- hotlinked --​

As if those weren't plenty more than enough, I also have 1 standard, plain-vanilla C.G. Conn single horn in F (eBay) that's rarely used except at Fairfax Band instrument "petting zoo" events for letting kids get hands-on introduction to band instruments, with the idea in mind that they might like to start playing in school bands themselves.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Where Are The Saxophones ?

DD is unlikely to ever play her tenor saxophones again; what's a good way to sell them? Both are Yamahas. One is a basic somewhat-beat-up student model but with good sound, and the other a very well-cared-for older intermediate one that was her instructor's till he upgraded.

Did your DD's Yamaha tenor saxophones find new homes ?

(It's none of my business -- I'm just curious.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Another Satisfied eBay Purchaser.

The Kalison went out via FedEx this morning, all boxed up with plenty of little plastic-film air pillows & a bunch of styrofoam packing peanuts.

eBay buyer called up to say how much he likes the Kalison horn.

When I picked up the phone & that's who was calling, I feared he was calling up to complain. It was a welcome surprise to hear him say positive things.

No buyer feedback yet, so I won't regard the matter as Case Closed till that happens.

Meanwhile, I have some eSnipe bids on more eBay horns all set for the closing seconds. Not only that, I am thinking about selling off my oddball museum piece -- pristine Jos. Lidl (Brno) compensating double horn patterned after a 1920s design by Karl Lehmann (Berlin).

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Case Closed. New Case Opened.

No buyer feedback yet, so I won't regard the matter as Case Closed till that happens.

Favorable feedback was recorded, so now it's official that the Kalison buyer is satisfied & I can quit worrying about it.

Meanwhile, The Devil has focused my attention on an outstanding & unusual Yamaha horn on eBay.

I would gladly have swapped the Kalison & the Mirafone, both of'm, straight up for that 1 Yamaha. Accordingly, I have set up a secret eSnipe bid for the Yamaha in an amount approximately equal to the eBay take from those 2 others.

I'll be on pins & needles for the next 4 days.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Case Is Still Closed.

I'll be on pins & needles for the next 4 days.

As it happens, I didn't have to wait 4 days.

With 24 hours to go, the bidding is already $500 over my eSnipe maximum & the reserve hasn't been met.

Too rich for my blood.

Fortunately for me, I have plenty of keepers already -- including 2 Yamahas -- without foolishly bidding up 1 more Yamaha just because it's interesting & unusual.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[wackymother]

I love this thread. And I think I love your French horn tech. He's the key to your empire!

 

[AwayWeGo]

You Typed A Mouthful.

I love your French horn tech. He's the key to your empire!

That's about the size of it.

Without him, I would be in deep sludge with lots of these eBay specials. Not only that, French Horn Rescue would be out of the question.

The guy is in his 80s, so nobody knows how long he'll keep on modifying & unsmashing & de-dentifying people's trumpets & cornets & flugelhorns & baritones & euphoniums & French horns & bugles & trombones & tubas, etc.

As far as flipping horns on eBay & trumpets, etc., on Craig's List, I think I caught on early that what I'm really doing is buying as much of my horn fixer's craftork as I can & reselling that.

His rates are reasonable because he's his own boss & works out of his own home workshop -- i.e., low overhead. He works on brasses only -- no reeds or woodwinds, not even silvery flutes or brassy saxophones.

He told a fun story on himself. He said he was at some outdoor event where he saw a regular customer (not me -- some other regular customer). The customer saw him too, but pretending that he didn't know that the horn fixer had seen him, the customer said to his companion (intending to be overheard by the horn fixer while acting like he didn't know the horn fixer was there), "Oh, look, there's Bob, the horn fixer, right over there. He's a butcher but he works cheap."

"So," the horn fixer said, "I raised my rates."

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Spreading The Wealth.

The Devil not only makes me bid on select eBay horns, old Beelzebub also now & then moves me to alert my horn playing friends to interesting & attractive horns by occasionally sending them internet links to some of the horn offerings on eBay & Craig's List.

Usually nothing much happens. My French horn buddies, some of'm, click the links & look at the pictures & that's about it.

Most recently, however, 1 of the main Fairfax Band hornists followed up a Craig's List link, checked out the pro-level horn being offered, & ended up not only buying it but thanking me for putting him on to it.

He declares the horn superb -- just what he'd been been looking for & had been unable to find, an iconic instrument from the maker's long-gone golden age. (Horns of that brand & model are still being made, but in a different workshop under different corporate parenthood, so new ones are not the same even though they're still pretty good.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Sheera]

Hi Alan,
Is your guy local? I'm also from McLean and I bought a trombone on ebay today. I got it from quinn the eskimo; any experience wirh him?

 

[AwayWeGo]

Local Is As Local Does.

Is your guy local? I'm also from McLean and I bought a trombone on ebay today. I got it from quinn the eskimo; any experience wirh him?

Horn fixer is not far from here -- just over in Falls Church VA. Send me E-Mail (not Private Message) if you want name & phone & address.

quinntheeskimo sells lots of musical instruments via eBay -- has 4 French horns in his eBay "store" right now. I'm sure I must have placed bids on his items at various times, but I don't know for sure whether I've won any of hie eBay auctions.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[rhonda]

quinn the eskimo

Wow, the Mighty Quinn! What a timewarp to my pre-teens. I *loved* that song and now can't get it out of my head ... "when Quinn the Eskimo gets here, everybody's gonna jump for joy!"

 

[AwayWeGo]

Oddball Museum Piece Is Out Of Here.

I am thinking about selling off my oddball museum piece -- pristine Jos. Lidl (Brno) compensating double horn patterned after a 1920s design by Karl Lehmann (Berlin).

Last week somebody in France put a well-preserved Carl Lehmann (Hamburg) compensating double horn on eBay.

Recognizing an opportunity, I quickly wrote up my pristine Lehmann-style Jos. Lidl (Brno) compensating double horn, used the photos I had ready & waiting, & -- WHAP ! -- got my Jos. Lidl horn into the eBay horn listings right next to the authentic Carl Lehmann.

In the process I learned it's Carl Lehmann (not Karl), & that his instrument-making workshop was in Hamburg (not Berlin). Who knew ?

However that may be, the Josef Lidl horn attracted a bidder -- it only takes 1 -- & is already out of here, headed to its new owner via Fed Ex Ground.

That leaves me with "only" six -- 6 -- French horns, 2 Yamahas, 2 Conns, 1 Lawson, & 1 Alexander.

The devil still makes me bid on more eBay horns, mostly losing bids, but occasionally lightning will strike & I'll buy another lowball horn. I have 1 eSnipe set up for a semi-wrecked instrument that will be another candidate for French Horn Rescue in the unlikely event I don't get outsniped.

Is this a great country or what ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Taking A Chance In Las Vegas.

We're timesharing this week -- 2BR Grandview At Las Vegas unit via straight-points exchange.

After breakfast Sunday morning, The Devil made me check musical instruments in the Las Vegas section of Craig's List. Somebody only 5 miles or so from the Grandview was offering an OK-looking Conn 6D for more than I wanted to pay. But nothing ventured nothing gained, so I sent an E-Mail message saying I was interested & asking when would be a convenient time to go see the horn.

Before long, the Craig's List person called, giving directions & saying to come right over. I did. The horn was OK -- not as good as the most recent prior Craig's List Conn 6D I bought back home, but still not bad.

I made an offer. The seller counteroffered. I counter-countered. After the seller got me to go just $5 higher than what I thought was my highest & best price, the deal was struck.

My wallet is now lighter & I am facing the logistical problem of how to get a Conn 6D French horn (in hardshell carrying case) home via the friendly skies day after tomorrow. I am all but certain the thing won't fit in any airplane overhead storage bin & I am dead certain it won't fit beneath the seat in front of me. The question is whether to check the thing at the outset, or gamble that I can take it on board, gate-checking it if it can't be stowed on board.

Some vacationers come to Las Vegas & take a chance at the gaming tables. I come to Las Vegas & take a chance on a Craig's List French horn. (Nobody's perfect.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​